


A Place To Hang Your Hat

by AniPendragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Happy, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Get Together, Happy AU, M/M, No Cinder, Pre-Canon to During Canon, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-22 22:51:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 50,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6096526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AniPendragon/pseuds/AniPendragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world without Cinder, without Maidens, without Salem, Roman Torchwick is a petty thief who spends way too much time at his crush’s club, and Junior just wants to run a successful business without paying for damages all the time. Fathers, friends, and eventually lovers, these two set forth to create the greatest club in Vale – a place that anyone, and everyone, can call <i>home.</i></p><p>
  <i>Because even bad guys have families to love and protect.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One-Sided Mockery

**Author's Note:**

> Crime Dads, as I have dubbed it, is another rare pair that I absolutely adore. You'd think it's cracky, but it works really well. This is a heavy canon divergence story. No Cinder, no Salem, no Maidens. Roman never goes to work for the White Fang, and _everything_ is different. It's amazing. I love it.
> 
> In this world, Roman is Neo's adoptive father and Junior is Miltia and Melanie's biological father. Because really, what the hell else could they be? There's a huge focus on Roman and Junior, with others showing up from time to time. This isn't just a get-together fic. I'm not going to spend thirty chapters getting these butts together. Most of the story is them _after_ that. But I gotta have some get-together in the fic. You gotta.
> 
> Cheers, y'all! And thanks for reading. Oh, and for those curious: Emerald and Mercury show up in chapter nine.
> 
> For those of you who want to see more, my [crime dads tag on my blog](http://anipendragon.tumblr.com/tagged/crime-dads) is full of mini-fics and some fanart!

Hot water poured onto Roman’s back, the steam rising all around him. He braced one hand against the wall and let the other trail down his front. Fingers brushing through the short, orange-red hairs that trailed toward his final goal. He bit his lip, careful to keep his shallow breathing quiet, and set to work.

His cheeks flushed and he rested his forehead against the slick, cool tiles. Images of large, calloused hands drifted along his sides and down to his hips. Imaginary lips pressed to his throat. Soft noise that he only barely stifled because the water couldn’t – wouldn’t – hide it all.

And as he took himself in hand, the flicker-flash of an imaginary, large hand, in its place…

There was a rap at the door. Roman swore and banged his head off the wall. Let himself go and braced both hands on the wall so he wouldn’t slip and fall – _again._

“Yeah?” he called, voice sharp and hoarse with frustration and arousal. Realized a moment later that Neo couldn’t reply through the door. Rephrased. “Bathroom or something else?” he called, falling back to their usual script.

Two knocks.

He sighed. “Emergency or no?”

Two knocks.

Roman sighed again. He’d been interrupted for _this_? Not that he didn’t love Neo. She was his life, his family – but they lived in close quarters. He didn’t interrupt _her_ showers unless he was dying.

“I’ll be out in a few,” he called. “Go check the news for us, would ya?” He could practically hear her hesitation through the door. He wondered why she was so keen to talk to him. Then, he heard her retreating footsteps as she went back to the living room.

Roman sighed and glanced down. Half hard and already drooping further. He sighed again and turned off the water. _Great_. He’d been enjoying himself too.

Pulling his clothes back on, Roman gave his hair its customary sweep to make sure it was in place, then headed into the living area of his and Neo’s two bedroom apartment.

The news was on. Neo was eating ice cream from the container. She was wearing her fuzzy pink slippers, the ones with tiny cats on them. Roman shook his head. He swore she’d fight in those things if he let her.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said. “What was it you needed?”

Neo looked up at him and blinked. Eyes went from both pink to both brown in a split second. She smiled and set down the ice cream, fingers already flying to form her words.

_“My birthday is in two weeks,”_ said Neo. _“I’m going to be sixteen.”_

“Yeah, you are,” said Roman. He leaned against the dining room table – a little thing with two chairs – and grinned. “What d’ya want, anyway?”

_“Other than for you to stop acting like a besotted fool?”_ she asked, raising an eyebrow. Roman rolled his eyes at her fingers. Where’d she even _learn_ the word besotted? And for that matter, where the hell had he?

“Oh ha ha, very funny,” he said. But his ears were burning. She’d hid his hat too, so he couldn’t hide it. “What else?”

_“New shoes and a new game on my scroll,”_ signed Neo. _“It’s called Academy Hunter and it’s a first person huntress game with new controls and customizable weapons!”_ Her hands flew so quickly that Roman had to keep all his attention on them. She was bouncing slightly, a grin on her face. _“I’m gonna make an umbrella cane with a Gatling gun attachment.”_

“Why a Gatling gun?” asked Roman, raising an eyebrow.

Neo shrugged. _“Kills more things.”_

Roman nodded, lips pursed. “Fair enough.” He shuffled one of his feet against the floor, already knowing the mockery he was about to face at the hands of Neo. “I don’t suppose…”

_“I’ll get my shoes.”_ It was amazing how much of a sigh Neo could manage while still signing. The full body slump, almost perfectly silent, that showed exactly how pathetic she thought her father was.

* * *

 

The club was loud and filled, as it always was on Friday nights. Roman didn’t know how much he’d actually get to talk to Junior, but he didn’t mind. Let him stare more without Junior noticing.

…And good _god_ was that a pathetic statement. It was no wonder Neo liked mocking him.

Roman perched himself on his favourite stool – the one on the far left, away from the dance floor – and watched Junior make his rounds with partygoers. Roman had one elbow propped on the counter and his chin on that hand. Let his eyes trail over the muscled curve of Junior’s figure. Couldn’t help but stare at the way Junior ran his hand over the top of his head whenever he was confused or hesitant.

Neo dropped onto the stool next to Roman and spun it around a few times, hair flying. She stopped and shimmied in her seat to the sharp beat of the current song. Something by _Anxiety! At the Academy_. They weren’t bad, but not really Roman’s usual taste. Fast paced lyrics that relied on complex rhyme schemes he could never follow. Neo loved them though. Appreciated their internal rhyming structure more than he ever could hope to.

Then she turned and gave him a flat look. Looked from Junior, eyebrows raised, to Roman, who was still sort-of staring. She sighed, audible, but only barely.

“What?” asked Roman. He straightened up, frowned at her.

Neo tapped her heart, then under one eye, and gave a symbol that Roman was _far_ too familiar with. It translated simply enough – _heart eyes motherfucker_.

“Seriously?” sputtered Roman, staring at her. Neo winked and did a little head cock. Another gesture he was too familiar with. Roman sighed. “I’m not. It’s not… You’re seeing things!” he protested. She wasn’t seeing things, and damn if her cocky little smirk didn’t say she knew it too.

“What’s going on?” Junior had wandered over during Roman’s sputtering and now stood, a few feet away from the two, with one eyebrow raised.

“Uh, well,” said Roman, at a momentary loss for words. He looked to Neo.

Neo looked from Roman to Junior. Then she turned her attention to Roman. Rolled her eyes. Splayed her fingers over her eyes and dragged them downward, a little bit away from her face. Held out her left hand, middle and ring finger forward, the others up, and made it bounce forward twice, palm down. _Pathetic_ , it meant.

Then she hopped up, stole his hat, and disappeared into the crowd. Probably looking for the twins. Or someone to pickpocket. Or both.

“What did she say?” Junior asked. He leaned against the counter near Roman. Roman’s gaze roamed across Junior’s arms, hidden beneath his button up shirt. His gaze trailed up to Junior’s face, who watched Neo disappear before looking back at Roman with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing important,” said Roman.

Junior said, “You say that a lot.”

“It’s usually true,” said Roman.

“Usually?” echoed Junior. His lips twitched. “Butterscotch needs to up her game.”

“She heard you call her that?” asked Roman.

Junior nodded. “Oh yeah. Hasn’t kicked me in the nuts yet, so I think I’m fine.”

Roman chuckled. “That’s Neo for you.”

Junior shook his head and ducked behind the bar, grabbing a pair of glasses. He filled them each with a couple fingers of whiskey and slid one to Roman.

Roman drank gratefully. Trying to keep his gaze from roaming too much over Junior’s body. Damn if it was hard though. Especially when Junior was leaning against the counter like that, head slightly tipped, to talk to Roman.

“You’ve been here every night for two weeks. My drinks that good?” asked Junior.

Roman shrugged, nonchalant as he could manage. _Play it cool._ “S’all right,” said Roman. “Mostly I come for the company.”

“Mine?” guessed Junior.

_Shit_. “Nah,” said Roman. He leaned against the counter, elbows propped up. “Mostly the dancers, ya know? Gotta find your entertainment somewhere.”

Junior snorted and shook his head. Took a swing from his own whiskey, head back. Roman watched the bob of Junior’s Adam’s apple as he swallowed. The slight sheen to Junior’s skin in the heat of the club. He ducked his head down a bit as Junior looked back at him. Pretended to stare at his own mostly empty glass.

“View’s nice, too,” said Roman, feeling bold.

Junior looked out over the dance floor. “Yeah, I spent a lot of time making this place look good.”

Not what he’d meant, thought Roman, but he’d take it. “Certainly shows. You’re a dedicated man.” Roman tossed back the rest of his drink and bit back a sigh. Back to square one.

Junior nodded. Then, “You sure she won’t kill anyone?”

Roman chuckled. It was definitely something most worried about. “We’re thieves, not murderers.”

“So she’ll rob them blind?” guessed Junior.

Roman nodded. “Yeah, probably. I’ll get her to put it back before we go though, can’t have this place getting a bad rep.”

“Thanks,” said Junior, smiling at him. Roman managed a smile of his own back. He braced himself, inwardly. Readied himself to say what he’d meant to say for the last two damn weeks.

“Junior, listen, I…” There was a crash on the dance floor and a shout of two angry people readying to fight. Junior swore and set down his glass.

“I gotta handle this,” said Junior. He darted out to the dance floor, shouting at people to back off and that he’d throw them out if he had to.

Roman sighed and slumped against the counter. Ran a finger along the edge of his glass and stared at his warped reflection in it. God, he felt like a mopping teenager all over again. Too scared to make the first move and pining in his spare time.

Neo appeared – almost literally – beside him. She gave him a flat look, raised her eyebrows, and pursed her lips. When she shook her head, Roman rolled his eyes.

“I know, I know, all right?” snapped Roman.

_“Pathetic_ ,” she signed, making a face. Then, she pressed her thumb to her forehead, fingers to the air, with her middle and index finger crossed and the others curled down. It was her word for _Dad_. She only ever used it when she felt bad for him.

He sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. Then reached out and stole back his hat. Shoved it on his head and sighed.

“I’m trying,” he said.

She held out her fists, close to her chest, and pushed them out and up slightly in a curve. Then, she brought them together, left in front of right, with the index and middle finger curled on both. _Try harder_ , it meant.

Roman stood up and grabbed his cane. “Next time,” he said. But the words were hollow. He’d said that every night for two weeks. The look Neo gave him meant she didn’t believe him either.

“Wallets,” he said, simply. Neo dug out half a dozen wallets and some watches and tossed them no the counter. Roman raised an eyebrow. She sighed, silent this time, and dug out a couple more.

Satisfied, he slung an arm around Neo’s shoulders and headed home. _Next time_ , he vowed. _Or else not at all_. He couldn’t keep doing this to himself. It was time to step up or step out completely.

Beside him, Neo’s fingers flicked their silent encouragement, and Roman felt a soft smile spread across his face. At least, no matter what he did about Junior, Neo was there for him. He could handle anything, with her by his side.


	2. Principle of the Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roman's more like his usual self in this one. And say hello to Tukson! No Cinder means no White Fang team up, which means TUKSON LIVES. (Although we haven't hit the part where he dies yet in series anyway. Heh.)

Roman studied the game he held in his hands, frowning slightly. He still wasn’t sure exactly what the draw of these huntsmen games were, but hey, if Neo wanted to play hero online, that was her business. At least _Academy Hunter_ didn’t have those grossly impractical outfits the rest of the series had. It’d made Neo feel self-conscious for almost two years after she started playing it.

Honestly, some game designers just didn’t understand their audience.

He stuffed the game back into the bag, alongside some flour and food colouring for Neo’s cupcakes, and ducked into Tukson’s Book Trade.

The jiggling of the bell was a familiar sound – Roman had found himself in here time and time again as he’d raised Neo. It was one of the few places he’d never stole from, if only because Tukson was such a nice guy and had watched Neo a couple times for him when he’d had long jobs.

“Hey, Roman,” said Tukson, coming out of the back with a pair of boxes in his arms. He set them down on the counter and smiled. “Looking for something in particular?”

Roman grimaced. “Sort of.”

“Oh?” asked Tukson. There was a touch of amusement in his voice as he leaned forward on his counter, arm folded across the surface.

Roman groaned and rubbed his face. “Love life trouble.”

“Oh?” said Tukson, eyebrows raised. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

Roman sighed and leaned against one of Tukson’s bookshelves. “Hei Xiong.”

“Junior?” asked Tukson. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. A disbelieving grin spread across his face. “You’ve got the hots for _Junior_.”

Roman bristled. “You know, if you’re going to mock me…”

Tukson raised his hands in surrender and grinned. “No, no. Just amused, my friend. Junior’s a fantastic guy and he runs a great club.” Tukson’s eyes were twinkling as he spoke. His fangs showed in his stupidly perky grin. “Which you smell just like, by the way.”

“I’ve… been there every night for two weeks,” said Roman.

“Oh, Roman,” said Tukson, shaking his head. “You besotted fool.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” muttered Roman. He picked up a book and tossed it to Tukson, nodding. “Besides, I’ve got an ultimatum now. Either I step up, or I give up.”

“How long you given yourself to?” asked Tukson, ringing him up.

Roman twirled his cane. “Last time I said next time, but…”

“You think you’ll chicken out,” said Tukson. Roman tossed him his card.

“Yeah,” said Roman. “I’ve got ‘til Neo’s birthday. Then I’m done. I can’t do this to myself – or to her – anymore.” He sighed.

“You’re a good father, Roman,” said Tukson. Then, “Her birthday’s in what? Two weeks?”

Roman nodded. Tukson disappeared into the back for a second and reappeared with a wrapped package that was _definitely_ a book.

“I had to order it special, but I hope she likes it,” said Tukson, handing over the package. “I’ve got a book convention that week though, so I won’t be around.”

Roman took the package, and his bought book, and said, “You are worth every bad joke, truly.”

Tukson chuckled. “You got any plans for her birthday?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Roman. He shoved the book bag into the game bag and grinned. “Maybe I’ll steal her a couple huntresses to play Academy Hunter with. Ooh! Or a dust store!”

Tukson laughed, shaking his head. “Really? Not a whole country?”

Roman scoffed. “Then what would I get her for her eighteenth birthday? Gotta plan ahead, Tukson.” He waved a finger under the man’s nose. Tukson batted his hand away.

“True enough,” he said. “You got any plans for today?”

“Back into the fray,” said Roman, placing a hand over his heart. “Alas, I must torture myself for the sake of my people.”

“Mm-hm,” said Tukson. “Good to see you acting like yourself again.”

Roman chuckled and tipped his hat. “Gotta keep the masses entertained.” He gave a little bow and headed for the door. “See you later, Tukson.”

“Later, Roman.”

Roman headed down the street toward home, only to pause at the club’s entrance, two blocks down. The music was much fainter than usual, if only because it was morning. Roman hesitated, two steps from the door, then muttered “fuck it” and headed inside.

The pulsating music and minor flickering lights were terribly familiar to Roman. He rooted around in his bag for something he’d snagged earlier on his walks. A bottle of vodka. It was a nice bottle, not ridiculously expensive, but expensive enough, and Roman had stalked the store for a week before he’d finally stolen it.

At the bar, the twins were doing their nails, still in their pyjamas. Roman still wasn’t sure how they slept in this place, but hey, who was he to judge?

“Hey girls,” said Roman.

“Hey, Roman,” said the girls in unison. Melanie was doing Miltia’s nails in a vibrant purple.

“Where’s your dad?” asked Roman.

Miltia pointed, with her spare hand, toward the back room.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You going to ask him out today?” asked Melanie, not looking up from her work.

“Melanie!” said Miltia, with a faux gasp.

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, come _on_ Miltia. I know he likes Dad. You know he likes Dad. The _henchmen_ know he likes Dad.” Roman swore he saw one of the henchmen turn around and walk away at those words.

Melanie looked up at Roman and gave him a look that he was _damn_ sure she’d picked up from Neo. “The only one that _doesn’t_ know, is Dad.”

Roman blinked a few times, trying to clear the confusion and panic that swept across his mind.

He chuckled, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. “You girls are something else,” he said. “You been reading romance novels?”

Miltia and Melanie looked at each other. Roman knew that look. That was the look of a teenage girl who thought she knew more than the person she was talking to. And they usually did, if Roman’s experiences raising Neo were anything to go by.

“Right,” said Roman, drawing out the word. “I’m gonna go find Junior.” He ignored the giggles as he headed for the back room.

“Junior?” he called, opening the door. Roman froze as Junior came into view. The man had ditched his usual get-up for a muscle shirt and his typical pants. His skin was gleaming with sweat, his brow pinched in concentration as he hefted a box up onto a shelf. Roman stared at his rippling muscles as he lifted the box. At the tightness across the front of the shirt. Heard his soft noise of surprise.

And Roman’s pants were suddenly far, far too tight.

“Oh, hey Roman,” said Junior. He shoved the box to the back of the shelf and grabbed at his usual shirt. Was quick to haul it over his sweaty skin and button it up.

Roman blinked hard. Swallowed harder and hoped Junior didn’t notice his current discomfort. “You’re…” He tried to find a word that wouldn’t be too much. Came up blank.

“Big?” finished Junior, his cheeks flushed as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Roman saw the self-conscious forward slump of Junior’s shoulders. The way one of his hands twitched toward his belly before twitching away again. “Yeah, I know.”

“Not what was I gonna say,” murmured Roman. He wasn’t sure if Junior heard him. _Damn_ , how did the guy feel self-conscious? Sure, he was a little chubby around the middle, but it did not take away from him whatsoever. Hell, Roman thought it was kind of hot. Even if he usually hid it with his vest.

“Underdressed, more like,” said Roman, letting his usual dry tone return. “Doesn’t this place have a strict dress code, Junior?”

Junior raised an eyebrow. “Club’s closed. Doesn’t apply.”

“Yeah, your girls are having a pyjama party out there. I figured,” said Roman.

Junior chuckled and shook his head. “So, what’re you doing here?”

“Brought you something,” said Roman. He dug the bottle out of the bag again and held it out to Junior. Junior whistled, holding up the bottle to the light.

“Nice find,” said Junior.

Roman shrugged. “Figured you could add it to your private collection.”

Junior nodded and set the bottle down. He grabbed his vest from the table and slid it on, buttoning it up. Roman pretended not to stare.

“Want a drink?” asked Junior, picking the bottle back up. Roman nodded and followed Junior back out to the actual bar. Melanie and Miltia looked up – Melanie was getting her nails done now – and they both smirked when they saw Roman. Roman narrowed his eyes at them. Damn girls. Knew more than anyone had a right to.

Junior slid Roman a blue drink in a cocktail glass when Roman took his usual spot at the bar.

“What’s this?” asked Roman, eyeing the drink. He swirled it a bit, noticing the way the blue shifted hues.

“New experiment,” said Junior. “Don’t have enough to do with vodka right now. I’m hoping that expanding into more fruity drinks helps.”

Roman hummed and lifted the drink to his lips. Sweet, but not overly so. The sharp kick of vodka dulled down the sugariness before it was overbearing. Blue raspberry flavour, but that much was obvious from the colour. There was something else, underneath, that drew Roman’s attention.

“Is that… kiwi?” asked Roman, trying to place the flavour.

Junior nodded. “Thought you’d notice that. Good?” Roman nodded, taking another sip of the drink. The two flavours worked surprisingly well together. It helped that Junior was a damn genius with this shit.

Roman glanced up at Junior, through his bangs, and saw Junior smiling at him. It was a soft, small thing that had Roman’s heart pounding hard in his chest. It was the perfect moment to talk to Junior, to say what he’d meant to say for weeks now.

But Miltia and Melanie were only feet away. Their gazes, and Roman couldn’t be sure if they were mocking or not – weighed heavily on Roman.

Finishing the drink, Roman stood and grabbed his bag.

“How’d you get a bag, anyway?” asked Junior. “If you were stealing?”

Roman scoffed. “I didn’t _steal_ Neo’s presents.” He put a hand over his heart as if the statement deeply offended him. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing!”

Junior raised an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. You’re thieves, Roman. Isn’t it a safe bet?”

“Usually,” conceded Roman. “But not this time. I’ve never stolen Neo’s presents.”

“Why not?” asked Junior.

Roman shrugged. “It’s the principle of the matter, Junior. She’s my daughter. She deserves better than common thievery to get what she deserves in life.”

Junior’s eyes went even softer, if that was possible. Roman gave a flourish with his hat to hide his own embarrassed expression.

“You’re a hell of a dad, Roman,” said Junior.

“I try,” said Roman, softly. “God, do I try.” He cleared his throat, twirled his cane, and stepped back a few feet and gave a bow. “I must be off, dastardly deeds and fatherly needs to attend to.” He looked up and winked. “You know how it is.”

Junior chuckled and waved him off. Roman spun around and walked back to the door, a bounce in his step. He hear Miltia and Melanie sigh behind him and his shoulders tensed.

So he hadn’t said it then. But Junior had taken the gift well. And the twins knew, and approved, apparently, so that was a good sign.

He could do this. He knew he could do this. It was just a matter of _how_.

With that in mind, Roman turned home, plotting various ways to woo Junior Xiong, master mixologist.


	3. Humiliation Conga

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned this is a romcom and Roman is the hopeless protagonist?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't stop laughing at this chapter. And 'awwing'. Hopefully y'all like it.

Two days later, Roman was ready to start implementing his plan to woo Junior. He started with Plan A: flowers.

Walking up to the club, Roman dodged puddles leftover from last night’s rain storm, a bouquet of white lilies in his arms. Junior liked lilies. Roman had heard him say as much to the twins once.

A shout from behind him made Roman leap off the road as a car streaked by, careening wildly. It skid hard through one of the puddles. Roman had a split second to realize what was going to happen before he – and his bouquet – were absolutely drenched.

He stared down at his ruined flowers, water dripping off his hat.

“Damn it!” he shouted. He threw the bouquet in the trash nearby and stalked home.

Okay, time for Plan B.

* * *

 

Plan B was another bottle of booze. This one was scotch. Roman filched it from a store just outside the city and brought it to the club. It was Tuesday night (girl’s night) and the club was packed. Roman cradled the bottle close as he headed over to the bar, which Junior was manning.

He got up to Junior and held out the bottle, preparing to speak.

Junior snagged the bottle without looking and poured drinks for all the girls at the bar. In an instant, a third of the bottle was gone. Roman stared, eyes wide.

Junior looked up, blinking. “Oh, hey Roman. Thanks for grabbing this from the back for me,” he said, holding it up. Roman blinked. What? He hadn’t… That bottle was _expensive!_

“Who told you to grab it?” asked Junior, head cocked. Then he was being called away by someone at the other end of the bar. Junior offered him an apologetic smile and was gone.

Roman scrubbed his face with one hand and muttered something dark under his breath. He stalked out of the bar, undeterred. He could do this.

* * *

 

Plan C! Romantic dinner. Except Roman wasn’t a great cook – he was all right, he fed Neo well enough – so he ended up ordering out. And it as Wednesday, which was a slow night at the club. And it was before the club opened.

Yup, Roman had planned for everything this time.

Except a sick Junior.

When Roman had arrived at the club that night, Junior had been nowhere to be found. He’d asked around, and the guys – Roman wasn’t sure what to call them these days, henchmen seemed too impersonal – had said Junior was up in his room.

Roman headed up the stairs in the back of the club, and disappeared into the apartment that Junior and the twins called home. His brow was furrowed and he clutched the bag holding the food tightly.

“Junior?” he called.

There was a low groan, then a muffled, “In here.” Roman followed the noise to the bathroom, where Junior was slumped on the floor, head resting on his arm, which was on the rim of the toilet. He paused, food hidden behind him, when he reached the door.

“Junior?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“Stomach bug,” mumbled Junior. He groaned, skin pale and sweaty. “Been up with it half the night.”

Roman nodded and set down the food, taking a slow step into the room. Junior jerked forward suddenly, retching into the toilet. He flushed. Whined. Closed his eyes again.

Roman disappeared for a moment. Tossed his cane, coat, and hat onto the table, as well as the food, and grabbed Junior a glass of water and some Gravol. He came back to the bathroom and sat down next to Junior, offering him the pills and water.

Junior swallowed them and sipped at the water. There was a few minutes of silence as Roman rubbed circles on Junior’s back. Then, Junior slowly slid to the floor, his head in Roman’s lap as he laid down. Roman stroked Junior’s hair and hummed lullabies under his breath.

He ended up giving the food to the twins. They appreciated it.

* * *

 

Thursday was supposed to be Plan D – show up at gay night and hit on dudes until Junior realized he was gay – but that fell through when Roman woke up in a cold sweat and had to bolt for the bathroom.

When he was done vomiting, he let out a low groan and rested his back on the outside of the tub. Neo poked her head in, cocked to one side and frowning.

 _“You okay?”_ she signed. Roman shook his head, forcing himself not to close his eyes. He needed to be able to see her sign, but _god_ were the lights bright and _god_ were they trying to kill him. He whimpered and gave in, letting his eyes slipped closed. He couldn’t stand it.

There was a minute of silence. Then, Neo was tapping his shoulder. Roman opened his eyes to fight the hall light on but the bathroom light off, bathing the room in a smaller, less harsh glow. Neo was holding out Gravol and a glass of water. Roman took both gratefully.

Like he had with Junior the day before, Neo settled beside him, her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

Her fingers danced just inside his vision – slow and exaggerated for his sick benefit.

 _“Caught his bug,”_ she signed. He nodded. _“Short?”_

“Twelve hours or so,” murmured Roman. “S’how long it got him.”

Neo gave him a thumb’s up and settled closer to him. When Roman fell asleep again, half an hour later, she was still there.

* * *

 

That weekend (he’d taken Friday to recover), Roman decided on Plan E. Custom drink for Junior.

Of course, he’d never made a drink before, but he’d watched Junior do it a thousand times – even if he spent more time staring at _Junior_ than the process itself – how hard could it be?

So Roman sauntered into the bar that Saturday night, the club hopping, and headed over to the bar. He slipped behind it, ignoring the looks he was getting, and paused, right behind Junior.

When Junior turned, he jumped, losing the bottle he was holding in the process. Roman caught it and held it in one hand, up to the light.

“Scotch, nice,” said Roman. He tossed the bottle back to Junior, who narrowed his eyes at him.

“Much as I don’t mind you being back here, I gotta ask – why?” said Junior.

Roman shrugged, stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Was hoping I could mix a few drinks.” It came out more of a question than he’d hoped, but he was pleased that he still sounded confident.

“Do you know how?” asked Junior, raising an eyebrow.

“…No.”

Junior sighed. “Get back on the other side of the bar,” he said, but there was a laugh in his voice. “I’ll teach you sometime, all right? But you aren’t touching my booze without proper training. You could kill someone.”

Roman nodded and settled into his spot on the left, which was curiously empty, despite every other stool being full. He settled in to crack jokes with Junior and have a couple of his new drinks.

* * *

 

Neo’s birthday was on Saturday. Today was Tuesday. Roman had taken a couple days off on his attempts to try and figure out a new approach. Subtle wasn’t working and the alcohol gift hadn’t either. He needed something more heartfelt, something personal.

So, that led to Plan F: Cookies.

Except, in all his planning, Roman had completely forgotten that he couldn’t bake to save his life. And he accidentally set the kitchen on fire.

Once Neo had completely doused the oven in foam from the extinguisher (and the counter and the floor, just to be safe), and Roman had opened all the windows and turned off the smoke detector, he slumped down on the couch with his head in his hands.

“This is useless,” he muttered. His hat sat on the table in front of his, mockingly. “I’m doomed. The universe hates me.”

Neo sat down next to him.

 _“The universe doesn’t hate you,”_ she signed.

Roman gave her a flat look. “Have you seen what I’ve been through lately? What else would you call it, Creamsicle?”

Neo tipped her head and pursed her lips.

 _“I see a man who has fallen hard for someone he thinks he can’t have,”_ said Neo. She tapped her heart and smiled at him. Roman felt his cheeks heat and ducked his head. Neo leaned over and tilted his chin back up so he could watch her.

 _“You can do this, Dad,”_ she said, her thumb pressing into her forehead and her index and middle fingers crossing. _“I believe in you.”_

Roman smiled and pulled Neo into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he murmured into her hair. She hummed, a sound that was mostly gargled, and patted his back.

* * *

 

Wednesday night and Roman had basically given up. There was no way he was getting this done. He didn’t stand a chance.

So he sat at Junior’s bar and drank that blue drink he liked so much from before. And he circled the rim with his finger and sighed softly to himself.

And Neo sat next to him, drinking a root beer float. She was frowning, Roman knew. Thinking, which was _worse._ He didn’t like a thinking Neo. A thinking Neo was trouble.

Abruptly, and perhaps to prove his point, Neo shoved off the counter, dropped onto the floor, and stalked off after Junior, who had just entered the area. The club was loud, music pounding around them, and Neo _really_ shouldn’t have been there. But Junior never cared.

Her fingers started flying at Junior, forming words that Roman _knew_ Junior didn’t know. Roman only caught part of them, but he could guess the rest.

 _Heart eyes motherfucker._ Then she made a C over her heart, then, put her hand on her hip, then lifted that arm to tap the elbow with her fist several times. _Christ on a cracker_ , he translated. _He’s besotted with you. Will you just kiss already!_ That was what about all Roman managed to catch. Neo’s fingers grew more and more frantic. Junior ended up backing up from her, his eyes wide.

With a curse, Roman wrapped an arm around Neo and hauled her away from Junior, spinning her so that she was facing him, and he had his back to Junior.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

 _“I want to help,”_ signed Neo. She held up her right fist and tapped the bottom with her left hand for the last word. _“Not like you’re being obvious enough!”_

“I don’t-” He cut himself off and switched to sign. _“I don’t need your help. I’m giving up!”_

Neo lifted her left hand and tapped her middle finger toward her head repeatedly. _“Why?”_ it meant. _“Because you’re scared?”_

_“Neo.”_

_“Dad.”_

Roman scrubbed a hand over his face. Neo let out a little huff, pouting at him.

 _“You deserve to be happy,”_ Neo signed, her eyes full of concern. Roman pulled up short, his heart constricting. That was what Neo was so wound up about? Him being happy with Junior?

“I am happy,” said Roman in a soft voice. He ruffled her hair. “I have you.”

 _“But you want him too,”_ signed Neo. _“And that’s okay. But you have to stop torturing yourself.”_

Roman pressed his lips together, then nodded. “Okay,” he said. He kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you go get some rest?”

Neo nodded and bounded off toward the door. Roman watched her go, a soft smile on his face.

“Everything okay?” asked Junior, wandering up behind Roman. The two men stood maybe half a foot from Junior’s bar, where a bunch of discarded glasses sat.

“Yeah,” said Roman. “Fine.” He turned to properly face Junior, his back to the bar, and took a deep breath. “Listen, we were fighting.”

“Oh,” said Junior. “Did you solve it okay?”

“Yeah,” said Roman. “We’re fine. But we were arguing because I’ve been trying to tell you something for weeks and I keep… not doing that.”

Junior raised an eyebrow. Roman braced himself. Took another deep breath. Opened his mouth but found the words wouldn’t come out. Instead he went, “Fuck it,” took two steps forward, grabbed Junior’s face, and planted a kiss on Junior’s lips.

There was a terrifying second of stillness. Then Junior’s arms were grabbing Roman’s hips and hauling him forward. And Junior’s lips moved against Roman’s and his tongue slid out to flick at Roman’s lips. Roman found himself backed into the bar, the counter digging hard into his back.

“Bedroom, now,” growled Junior. Roman didn’t have to be told twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating is changing to E next chapter. They're gonna frick frack and I'm gonna write it.


	4. Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They do the do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Welcome to the reason this fic is now rated E.**
> 
> Have some sin! In this chapter: neck biting, a minor strip tease, some light body worship, rimming, begging, fingering, and a whole lot of hot-yet-heartfelt sex.
> 
> ...Yeah this one ran away from me. Can't say I mind though. Shout out to RogueWolfPrints, whose Ironqrow fic "Drunken Kisses" gave me the idea for the rimming portion of this chapter.
> 
> Comments are deeply appreciated! Especially since I don't usually write smut.

The bedroom door had only just closed when Roman found himself pressed against it. He let out a soft gasp when Junior threw his hat across the room and carded his fingers through Roman’s hair. Junior’s lips found Roman’s throat, teasing the sensitive skin with his teeth and tongue until Roman knew Junior had left a bruise.

_“Jesus,”_ breathed Roman, arching into the touches. He ran his hands down Junior’s front and shifted his head to catch Junior’s lips in another kiss. Tugged at Junior’s lower lip with his teeth. Junior growled and pressed Roman harder against the door. His tongue slipped into Roman’s mouth and Roman deepened the kiss as best he could. Wrapped his arms around Junior’s neck and tugged him even closer.

Junior went back to Roman’s neck, his hands working open the button’s on Roman’s coat. Another bruise. Several sharp bites that left Roman rock hard in his pants. _Shit_ it shouldn’t have been that easy to get him going.

Roman groaned. “What about the club?” murmured Roman, cursing inwardly the moment he said it.

“Boys can handle it,” said Junior against his throat. The last button on the jacket came undone and Junior tugged Roman off the door long enough to slide it off him. Junior took a moment to rake his eyes down Roman’s lean figure. The grey v-neck, Roman knew, made his abs look great. Then Roman was pressed against the door again.

He went to card his fingers through Junior’s hair, but Junior caught both his wrists with one hand and pinned them to the door above Roman.

Roman didn’t quite bite back the moan that slipped from his lips. He felt his cheeks heat and his eyes flutter.

Junior grinned against his neck. “Like that, do you?”

_“Christ,”_ breathed Roman. He hooked one leg around Junior and rolled their hips together. Junior’s grip loosened for a split second as he gasped against Roman’s throat. Roman got one of his hands free and used it to grab Junior by the tie and yank his lips back to Roman’s.

The kiss was sloppy, but oh so good. Roman still had one hand pinned and Junior had a hand flat on Roman’s stomach. He tugged tighter on the tie until Junior made a noise of protest and let go of his other hand. Roman used his nimble fingers to get the tie and vest off Junior before the man could react.

He grinned, staring up at Junior as the vest fell to the floor.

“Bed?” asked Roman, the cheekiness in his voice only outdone by the mirth in his eyes. He let his leg drop from Junior’s waist.

Junior growled, grabbed Roman by the hips, and walked them backwards. They kicked off their shoes as they went. Junior fell back and brought Roman down with him with a breathless laugh.

They grinned at each other, Roman adjusting so that he could straddle Junior and run his fingers down Junior’s still-clothed chest.

“Well, hello there,” purred Roman.

Junior smirked and tucked his hands behind his head, nodding as if to say “gimme a show”.

Roman wiggled his hips slowly, letting the rest of his upper body shimmy with him. He reached down, arms crossed in front of him, and rolled up his shirt slowly, tossing it aside as he slipped it over his head. Smirked down at Junior with hooded eyes, who stared back at him with open lust.

Roman leaned forward, pressing his lips to the exposed skin at the base of Junior’s throat. He slowly undid the first button and kissed his way down the skin as it was exposed. Junior made a soft noise in his throat and Roman undid another button. Trailed the kisses down to the next one and kept going. Button by button, kiss my kiss, until he reached Junior’s navel.

Undid the last button and pressed a row of kisses around his navel, nuzzling the curly hairs that lightly dusted his belly.

“Roman…,” started Junior. Roman glanced up through his eyelashes, saw Junior staring at him with hooded eyes, half bright with panic.

 “Shhh,” murmured Roman. He pressed another kiss to Junior’s stomach. Smiled into it and ran his fingers down Junior’s sides. “Gorgeous,” he murmured.

Junior made a noise of protest, but his hand slid into Roman’s hair and carded through it slowly. Roman smiled again and let his fingers dance along Junior’s pants’ button. Let his mouth slide lower until he was mouthing Junior through the front of his pants.

“Shit,” breathed Junior. Roman grinned and slid back up.

He popped the button and undid the zipper, nudged at Junior’s hips until Junior lifted them. Roman shucked Junior’s pants and boxers in one go. Slid his fingers down the curly hairs that led to Junior’s half-hard length.

“Well,” murmured Roman, “You’re definitely _proportionate._ ”

Junior laughed, a bright sound that broke any semblance of tension in the room. “Really, that’s what you first thought to say?”

Roman smiled, a genuine thing, and said, “You seemed tense.”

“Tense?” echoed Junior. “’M fine. Just didn’t think we’d ever get this far.”

“No,” agreed Roman, sliding his hands down Junior’s torso. He tweaked a nipple as he went. Grinned at the way Junior shuddered. “Neither did I. Glad we did, though.” The last part was softer, almost to himself.

Junior propped himself up on his elbows and smiled. “Me too,” he said, his voice soft. Roman grabbed Junior by the undone collar of his still-clinging-to-him shirt and hauled him upright for a kiss. Roman took the opportunity to get Junior’s shirt off him. Then he wrapped his arms around Junior’s neck and kissed him until he saw stars.

Abruptly, Roman found himself on his back. He blinked his eyes open, staring up at Junior, who had his hands planted on either side of Roman’s head.

“My turn,” said Junior, his voice almost a growl. Roman let his head fall back and laughed. The sound quickly dissolved into a moan when Junior palmed Roman through his pants. Roman reached down to grab Junior’s shoulders. Once again, Junior grabbed his wrists in one hand and pinned them, this time, to the headboard behind Roman.

“Shit that’s hot,” muttered Roman. Junior chuckled and came back up, sucking a mark into Roman’s collarbone that left him whining in the back of his throat.

With one hand, he got Roman’s pants undone and, with some help from Roman, managed to kick them and the briefs off.

“Good, now we’re _both_ naked,” quipped Roman.

Junior let out a low growl and lined up their bodies, lowering himself until he could roll their dicks together. Roman tilted back his head and moaned, cheeks flushed.

“Do you _ever_ stop talking?” asked Junior. His voice was rough, but the affection was still there.

Roman laughed, but it was breathless and desperate as he tried to buck his hips into Junior’s. Junior pinned his hips with his other stupidly big hand. Now Roman _really_ couldn’t move.

“Not if I can help it,” muttered Roman.

Junior released Roman’s hands, leaving Roman blinking up at him owlishly.

“Hands on the headboard,” said Junior.

“Wha-?” asked Roman, eyes narrowed. “What are you…?”

Junior smirked. “Hands on the headboard. Don’t let go.” Roman nodded and curled his hands into the metal bar that ran along the top of the headboard.

“Okay,” said Roman, his cheeks were flushed and his heart pounded hard in his chest. “What are you gonna do?”

Junior smirked and slid lower and lower on Roman’s body, until his mouth was level with Roman’s cock. His breath ghosted Roman, who was so hard it hurt, but he didn’t stop there.

He used his free hand – one still pinning Roman’s hips – and lifted Roman’s right leg until it bent at the knee and was pressed close to Roman’s stomach.

Roman made a keening noise as he realized what Junior was going to do. Tried to wriggle his hips to get some kind of friction for his straining cock. His heartbeat pounded loud in his ears as Junior kissed Roman’s inner thigh, slowly trailing toward Roman’s ass.

Roman whimpered and planted his free foot on the bed to try and get purchase. But the sheets were too slippery and Junior too strong. He whined and smacked his head back on the bed.

“You’re not patient,” mumbled Junior, his lips grazing the curve of Roman’s ass.

“No,” said Roman, panting wetly. “I’m really not.”

Junior’s tongue flicked out and grazed Roman’s ass. It trailed further and further inward, impossibly slow. Roman whined, loudly. Pressed his lips tight together.

“Junior…,” he managed.

Then the tongue swiped across his hole, quick and sweet, before diving in.

“Mother _fuck_!” shouted Roman. His hips jerked hard enough for Junior’s hand to press harder again his hip. His hands tightened on the headboard.

Junior – the bastard – hummed as his tongue continued to flick in and out, tracing circles whenever he drew out for more than a second.

It was _impossibly_ hot. Roman whined again, high and needy. Tried to gain purchase. But the hands on his hip and his leg – hot, sweaty, and big, and _oh dear god that shouldn’t be attractive_ – gave him no room for movement.

All he could do was whine as his every nerve came alive. Hot, wet gasps slid out of his mouth and his eyes fluttered. His head hit the pillow and his hands never left the headboard, just gripped it tight enough that Roman could feel his arms quaking.

“Good _god_ ,” Roman said, his voice broken and breathless. “Junior, _please._ ”

Junior’s tongue flicked across his hole one more time before he drew back, releasing Roman’s cramping leg in the process. He let it fall down until both his legs framed Junior. Stared down at Junior with eyes that he knew were blown wide in lust. His cheeks were flushed, his breath loud and harsh in his own ears. Sweat shone on his and Junior’s skin.

“ _Fuck_ ,” breathed Roman when he saw Junior, a thin trail of spit hanging from his lips. Junior smirked, tongue flicking out to lick his lips and catch it. Roman’s cock jumped and he whined, loudly.

“I swear to God,” breathed Roman. “If you don’t _touch me_ , I’m going to explode, and not in the fun way.”

Junior grinned. “Can’t have that, now can we?” He reached up and uncurled Roman’s shaking hands from the headboard before drawing him in for a kiss. Roman wrapped his arms around Junior, threw a leg around his waist, and hauled them together from chest to knee. Slid their groins together and moaned into the open-mouthed kiss.

When they pulled back, both panting, Junior looked a little lost for a second.

“You wanna turn over?” he asked.

Roman shook his head, too breathless to think properly. “No. Wanna see you. Kiss you,” he managed. And _god_ he couldn’t remember ever being this wrecked. This unable to talk – to _think_ , even.

Junior nodded and kissed him again. Didn’t hold it long because they were both still gasping for air. He leaned over Roman and opened up his end table, grabbing some lube and a condom.

“Prepared,” murmured Roman. “I appreciate that in a man.”

Junior chuckled and kissed Roman again, more of a peck than anything else. He ran his hands down Roman’s side before lifting up one of Roman’s legs and hooking it just below his elbow. Roman was grateful, he wasn’t tall enough to hook them over Junior’s shoulders without ending up flipping over mid-thrust.

Roman watched Junior pop the top off the lube and liberally coat his fingers. Roman smirked.

“Cautious,” he quipped.

“Just don’t wanna hurt you,” said Junior, voice soft. Roman pressed his lips together, not quite sure what to say to that. Then there was a finger slipping into his ass and he _really_ didn’t know what to say.

He groaned, loud and harsh. Head thrown back as Junior worked the singular finger inside him.

“Shit,” breathed Roman.

“You all right?” asked Junior. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Roman’s chest. Roman took the moment to pet Junior’s hair a bit before Junior drew back again.

Another finger circled before slipping in. Roman whined.

“Yeah, yeah,” he managed, voice cracking. He threw his other leg around Junior and lifted his hips a bit. Got a better angle. “Just uh, haven’t done this in a while.”

“Yeah?” asked Junior. And oh, it wasn’t _fair_ how calm Junior sounded when he was knuckle deep in Roman’s ass. A third finger slipped in, Roman smacked his head backward into the pillows and _howled_.

“Fucking _shit_!”

Junior chuckled and crooked his fingers. Roman whined, a desperate, cracking sound that split into a groan as Junior brushed him just _right_. Junior did it again, grinning cheekily at him.

Then his fingers were sliding out of Roman and Roman couldn’t help but whine loudly at the loss.

“You really are noisy,” said Junior. He tore the wrapper and rolled the condom on. Slicked himself up. Roman lifted his head to watch, biting his lip. Junior caught his gaze and Roman saw his neck heat.

“Fuck, you look good like this,” breathed Junior. “Open and sweaty and red.” Junior swallowed hard. “Could keep you like this forever.” Then he ducked his gaze like he couldn’t believe he’d said that.

 “You don’t look bad yourself,” murmured Roman, looking at Junior with hooded eyes.

“Sure,” muttered Junior, lining himself up. Roman reached down and grabbed one of Junior’s arms. As much as he _wanted_ this – god did he want this – this was worth the few seconds’ delay.

“Hey,” said Roman. “I’m serious. You’re gorgeous, Junior.” His eyes raked down Junior, and he felt himself flush because _god_ he wanted this man so very, very badly. “Fucking gorgeous,” breathed Roman.

Junior’s entire face went red and he ducked his gaze. “Thanks,” he said, voice barely audible. “You, uh,” he cleared his throat, “you done?”

“Yeah,” said Roman. “Now get your dick in my ass, stat.”

Junior laughed, hard, bent over as he shook from it. “Yes, _sir_ ,” he muttered. Roman grinned at him, but the grin quickly slid into a moan as Junior slid into him in one smooth motion.

“ _Fuck_ ,” breathed Junior. Roman’s hands scrambled up and around Junior’s neck, gripping as tight as he could. He let out a low, desperate noise, loud in the quiet of the room. He wrapped his legs tighter around Junior’s waist and hauled them flush together. Revelling in every spot where their bodies connected.

There was a moment of stillness before Junior shuddered. Every tiny moment sent sparks dancing along Roman’s body.

“You good?” asked Junior.

“Yeah,” said Roman, nodding. His voice was so cracked it didn’t sound like him anymore. “ _Fuck,_ Junior.”

“I can go slow,” murmured Junior.

“No,” said Roman, shaking his head. “No, god, um.” He took a deep breath. It was impossible to think, with Junior stretching him open and filling him like this. With Junior looking down at him like that. With every tiny movement nudging Roman in all the right ways.

“We’ve done the rest of this slow,” said Roman, finding his voice. “So believe me when I say, Junior, that, I want you to,” he slid his hands around to cup Junior’s face, made the man stare him right in the eye, “ _Fuck me._ ”

Junior didn’t have to be told twice. He drew back until Roman was sure he was gonna fall right out of Roman, and then _slammed_ back in.

Roman threw back his head and _screamed_. His hands slid to Junior’s shoulders as Junior thrust in and out of him with as much force as he dared. Roman dug his fingers hard into Junior’s shoulders and felt his legs on Junior’s hips loosen. He bucked back as hard as he could, throat raw from his shouting and swearing already.

Roman was only barely away of what he was saying. Incoherent babbles and shouts of “more” and “faster” and “motherfucker” came to mind. Mostly he just dug in with his nails as lightning ripped through his body. As Junior’s weight settled over him again and again. As Junior lifted one of his hands, still using the other for balance on the bed, and wrapped it around Roman’s aching, leaking cock.

Jerked it almost as hard and as fast as this thrusts. Junior’s head bent low over Roman, his wet grunts against Roman’s collarbone.

Roman gasped for air, between his shouts and curses and groans. Tried to hold some of them back because _god_ he was losing his voice but _god_ was it worth it. Junior shifted angles, eyes closed as he moved above Roman.

Roman stared, amidst his open mouth gasps and moans and shouts he stared at Junior’s sheer look of concentration and _pleasure_. That look and Junior’s grunts went straight to his cock. Electrified every touch and sent him spinning closer and closer to an uncontrollable edge.

“So hot,” Roman managed, his voice as wrecked as he was. He felt Junior’s hips stutter. Then his angles shifted again and Roman saw _stars_. Closed his eyes and cried out again because he couldn’t _take_ it anymore. The sound of skin on skin and the grunts coming from Junior. The feeling of their bodies pressed together. The hand on his cock and the breaths against his collarbone.

And Junior’s hips and cock, and _oh god._

Roman felt the end come at him sharp. He knew it a split second before it ripped through him. Left him screaming and arching and digging his nails hard enough to break the skin on Junior’s shoulders.

White hot and lightning fast. Screaming through his veins until the whole world whited out.

And Junior kept _going_. Every over-sensitive thrust sending Roman spiralling into aftershocks that had his eyes tearing up from the pleasure-pain that skittered across his spine and the base of his dick.

And then Junior was coming with a hoarse cry, his face pressing hard into Roman’s shoulder to stifle it. His hips stuttered, slowed, and finally stopped.

Then the only sound in the room was their harsh breathing and the very, very faint sound of the club music.

It took a few minutes, but Junior eventually slid out of Roman – prompting a wince from Roman – and tossed the condom into the garbage near his bed. He dropped down onto the bed next to Roman, grabbing tissues from the end table. Wiped half-heartedly at his and Roman’s torsos. Got enough of it that Roman batted away Junior’s hands and let Junior throw those out too.

Roman managed a sort of breathless, gasping laugh. “Shit,” he breathed.

“Mm,” replied Junior. Roman glanced over at Junior to see his eyes fluttering. With a slight amount of hesitation, Roman rolled to face Junior and scooted closer to him. Junior reached out and wrapped an arm around him, tugging Roman against him. Roman nuzzled into the crook of Junior’s neck.

“We should probably talk,” said Junior, his voice barely above a mumble.

“In the morning,” said Roman, snuggling closer to Junior. He trailed one hand down Junior’s sweat soaked chest. Junior kicked one foot to knock loose the blanket at the end of the bed and dragged it over the two of them. “Sleep now.”

“Yeah,” said Junior. “Yeah, sleep sounds good.” The last thing Roman noticed, before drifting off, was Junior pressing a kiss to his hair. He fell asleep with a little smile on his face.


	5. The Morning After Never Felt So Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Junior's POV for once! And Neo!

Junior awoke decently early the next morning, especially considering how exhausted last night had made him. He didn’t bother getting up right away. Instead, he laid in bed for a few minutes, one arm wrapped tightly around Roman, slowly rubbing circles on his back.

Junior couldn’t help but smile and drop a peck to Roman’s hair. He snuffled in response and buried tighter into Junior’s shoulder.

Last night had been… well, it’d be more than Junior had ever dreamed of. More than his wildest fantasies could ever create. Junior hadn’t bothered to entertain the idea that Roman was interested in him. At least, not often. Roman was… _Roman_. Big, loud – both in life and in bed, apparently – and unapologetic. To think that he _wouldn’t_ tell Junior about… whatever it was that had transpired between them last night. Well, it was strange.

With a soft sigh, Junior quietly peeled himself out of bed. He couldn’t help but smile when Roman whined and buried himself in Junior’s pillow, curling around it. He grabbed pants and a sweatshirt and tugged them on.

Ducking into the bathroom, Junior splashed some water on his face. Then, while he was thinking about it, he brushed his teeth. Shoving your tongue in someone’s ass was bound to lead to some bad morning breath.

That done, Junior stretched, took one last long, content look at Roman’s sleeping figure, and headed back down into the club.

The music was the lowest it ever got in the day. It was maybe nine in the morning, and so most of his boys weren’t there. There were maybe half a dozen moving stuff through the club. Boxes, drinks, garbage bags. Most clean-up was left until morning. Junior had always found it easier that way.

“Morning,” called Junior as he came down the stairs, stretching. His boys didn’t look at him. In fact, some of them seemed to be pointedly looking away from him. Junior looked down at himself. He was clean, and the sweats were normal for his morning wear. He did it all the time. He knew his face was clean too. And Roman was the one covered in hickies, not him.

“Everything all right?” Junior asked Nigel, the one cleaning glasses at the bar.

Nigel kept cleaning the glasses. “Yes, boss.”

“You sure?” asked Junior. He peered down at the man, eyes narrowed and arms folded across his chest.

Nigel faltered. “Well, um, you see. Last night. With Roman…”

Junior winced. “You saw that?” he asked, referring to the impromptu make-out session against the bar and the scrambling as they’d disappeared into Junior’s apartment.

“No?” said Nigel. “Some of us saw you leave. But.”

“But?” prompted Junior. It wasn’t the first time he’d found a partner in the club for the night, not even the first time it was a man. Sure, those incidences were far and few between, but Junior’d never figured his men for bigots. He was careful in how he chose them.

“Mostly we heard you,” said Rob, behind Junior. Nigel coughed. “Him, actually.”

The others were looking at Junior without looking at him now, fidgeting and twitching.

Junior felt himself pale. Felt his neck heat up a moment later. “You, um.” He cleared his throat. “You heard him?”

“Only on the balcony,” said Trace. “And we kicked everyone off it. Claimed there was a loose support or something.”

Junior sighed and leaned against the bar. “All right. Tell me _one_ of you thought to turn up the music.”

“Nigel did, boss,” said Trace, scuffing one of his feet against the floor. “We um, might have blown a speaker at some point. We should check that.”

“Yeah, we should,” said Junior. He wondered, absently, if Roman would be against a gag. It wasn’t Junior’s thing, but speakers were _expensive_. Maybe he could just add more soundproofing to his apartment. That way he could still kiss Roman.

Of course, that was assuming they slept together again. And that was still up in the air, even if Roman had initiated the first kiss and had cuddled up to him afterward. But he still wasn’t sure.

“Nigel?” said Junior, one hand covering his face.

“Yes, boss?” asked Nigel. The hesitation in his voice palatable.

“You’re getting a raise,” said Junior.

Nigel swallowed audibly. “Thank you, boss.”

“So uh,” said Trace, rubbing the back of his neck. “Does this mean you and Torchwick are dating now?” he asked.

“You could say they’re _wicked_ close,” quipped Carlos, setting down a box. He grinned. “Eh? Eh?”

“Carlos!” The exasperation in all their voices made him shrink back.

Junior sighed and rubbed the top of his head with one hand. “I don’t know. We have to work that out.”

“I hope you do,” said Nigel, leaning against the counter, the cups forgotten. “You’ve been down ever since you started pining after the guy.” Junior winced. Had he really been that obvious?

“Yeah and you didn’t notice he was pining just as- Ow hey!” Junior’s gaze went to Carlos, who had just been smacked in the head and was rubbing at the spot while glaring at Trace.

“What do you mean…?” Junior trailed off, frowning. The guys were saved from having to answer, however, as Junior spotted Roman coming down the stairs then.

Roman had shrugged on his shirt and pants, though everything else was missing, including his shoes and socks. He was also walking with a noticeable limp. Junior felt his neck heat up. Saw the way the boys looked away and went back to their work. Junior pressed his lips tightly together.

He knew he’d been rough last night – not that Roman had seemed to mind – but he hadn’t realized he’d gone _that_ over the top.

…He should probably apologize.

Roman got to the bar easily enough, his eyes narrowed at the guys that kept looking away from him whenever Roman caught them looking. A few of them mumbled “Morning Roman”, like they weren’t not looking at him pointedly. Then Roman reached the bar and leaned against it. Junior figured Roman was trying to save his dignity by not sitting down, but the limp kind of blew that out of the window.

“Morning,” said Roman, eyes and voice light.

“Morning,” said Junior, smiling. He couldn’t quite keep the unfiltered joy that slid through his veins whenever he looked at Roman now. The warmth that entered his voice and eyes whenever he smiled. “So, uh,” said Junior. “Talking.”

Roman rolled his eyes, stepping up into Junior’s personal space. His fingers trailed around the collar of Junior’s sweatshirt. Perfectly casual, if not for the slight quaking in Roman’s fingers that gave away his trepidation over the whole thing.

Taking a chance, Junior ducked his head to close the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss to Roman’s lips. Roman hummed and gripped his sweatshirt, deepening the kiss. Junior slipped an arm around Roman’s waist and tilted his head a bit more.

When they pulled back, they both had tiny smiles on their faces, and Roman’s eyes were as soft as Junior knew his own were.

“Talking,” echoed Roman. He cocked an eyebrow at Junior. “Wanna date?”

“Yes,” said Junior, a soft laughing slipping from his throat.

Roman grinned. Junior saw the miniscule tension slide out of Roman’s shoulders. “There ya go, talking done, let’s kiss more.”

He grabbed Junior’s sweatshirt tighter, trying to drag Junior down for another kiss. Junior couldn’t help but laugh. He caught Roman’s hands and laced their fingers together, drawing Roman’s hands down. In the background, he saw his boys mingling amongst themselves, not quite clear on what to do.

“I’m not paying you to gawk,” said Junior, lifting his voice to be heard without ever turning away from Roman. He slipped his arms around Roman and cradled the man’s hips in his hands. Roman grinned up at him, blowing his bangs out of his face.

The guys wandered off, working or getting food or taking smoke breaks outside – Junior had banned smoke inside four months ago. Not that Roman ever listened to that rule.

“It’s not that simple,” said Junior.

“Why not?” asked Roman. “We banged, we kissed, we’re happy…” Roman shrugged. “What more is there?” A pause. “You are happy, right?”

“Very,” said Junior. “Last night was a long time coming.” He released one of Roman’s hips and brushed Roman’s bangs out of his eyes. “But there’s still the girls to worry about.”

Roman coughed, ducking his head like he was embarrassed. “Actually, Neo’s being giving me advice on how to woo you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And the twins have been mocking me. For weeks.”

Junior raised an eyebrow. “Wait. All those times you were at the club…?”

“My one hundred percent guaranteed plan to woo, well, you,” said Roman, looking oddly sheepish. “It failed.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” asked Junior. “And if the girls are good with this, then I am too.” He smiled down at Roman, and he knew the warmth in his eyes was growing with every passing second.

Roman sighed and slid his arms around Junior’s neck, playing with the little hairs there. He was smiling too, a soft thing that made him look more like the man he’d been last night than the sarcastic shit he usually was. Not that Junior minded Roman being a sarcastic shit. Both were good.

Roman rose up on his toes and Junior ducked his head, drawing Roman closer for a kiss. Right before their lips touched, there was a large squeaking noise and Roman was stumbling sideways, away from Junior.

It took Junior a second to realize that Roman had been tackled by Neo, who was grinning up at him. Junior blinked. He hadn’t realized Neo could _make_ noise. He’d heard her sigh before, but he figured that was just air.

“Hey, kiddo,” said Roman, ruffling her hair. “Um, your advice worked? Surprise?”

Neo rolled her eyes and stepped off Roman, fingers flying. She made a gesture across her chest that had Roman turning as red as his hair.

“The _girls_?” echoed Roman. Junior felt himself pale. Only one phrase could possibly have done that.

“Don’t worry,” said Melanie, walking up. “We left when the henchmen started looking embarrassed.”

“Didn’t hear a thing,” finished Miltia, filing her nails. She hopped up onto the bar stool and spun it around. Smirked at Junior.

“Good,” mumbled Junior, rubbing a hand over his face. “Great.”

Neo cocked an eyebrow at Junior and wriggled her nose. He wasn’t quite sure what she was getting at.

“What?” he asked. Neo rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. Then, she turned her attention to Roman and her fingers started flying. Junior couldn’t keep up with them to save his life – he could barely finger spell, as it stood, but Roman absorbed it quick enough that he was going red as Neo signed.

“No! Absolutely not,” said Roman. He cut his hands through the air. “I’m not saying that.” Neo put her hands on her hips again. Roman sighed.

“She says if you,” started Roman, pointing to Junior, “hadn’t been so oblivious, we could have gotten together weeks ago.”

Junior rolled his eyes. “Oh come on! Can’t we blame you too?” he asked.

Neo looked thoughtful, her nose wrinkled and her lips pursed. She nodded.

“Well, there ya go,” said Junior, a little smug.

Roman sighed. “She also says you’re invited to her birthday. And she wants you to make her a cake.”

Junior looked down at Neo, who he knew was turning sixteen in a little less than two days. “Well then,” said Junior. “Let’s go look at recipes.” Neo bounced after him, a gleam in her eye that worried Junior.

He heard Roman chuckling behind him, then a yelp as the twins closed in.

“So, what are your intentions with our father?” they asked. Junior felt himself pale. He looked down at Neo, who looked up at him with a level of innocence that was so fake it was creepy. This had been their plan all along, then. To split him and Roman up between them so they could interrogate them.

Well, that was fine by Junior. Neo might be terrifying, but she liked him well enough. Besides, it not only meant they cared, but that they approved of his and Roman’s relationship.

And that, more than anything, just made Junior happy.


	6. Sweet Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, after two weeks off, we're back at it! Have some crime dads. And look, plot is starting!

“Happy birthday dear Neo, Happy birthday to you,” the four finished their song with a cheer and Neo blew out the sixteen candles on her cake. She smiled at them, a shake in her shoulders that betrayed her mostly silent laughter, and gestured for the knife.

“Last time I gave you a knife, you threw it at a wall,” said Roman, slipping around her. He cut into the cake, passed the chocolate icing, and pulled out a slice for Neo. The inside of the cake was chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, all swirled together without mixing. It was a thousand times better than Roman could have ever hoped to do with her cupcakes. Junior, it seemed, really was good at everything.

Neo stuck out her tongue at him and took the slice. She darted out of the kitchen to eat it, and the TV was playing the title screen for some movie in the living room. Roman thought it might have been Nevermore Invasion 4. Neo adored cheesy B movies.

Roman handed off a slice to Miltia and Melanie, who also disappeared into the living room as well. As he went to cut a slice for Junior, a pair of arms snaked around his waist and a pair of lips pressed to his neck.

“Hey,” said Roman. “You want a slice?”

Junior hummed against his throat and kissed his way up to Roman’s jaw, his body settled comfortably against Roman’s back. Roman leaned back into the touch and tilted his head back. Junior lifted his head and leaned over Roman to kiss him properly. Then he kissed Roman again. Roman hummed.

“Someone’s cheerful,” murmured Roman.

“Happy,” corrected Junior. “Problem?”

Roman turned around in Junior’s arms and wrapped his arms around Junior’s neck. He let out a soft laugh and leaned up to kiss Junior again.

“Not at all,” he murmured. “Not at all.” Their lips met again. It was a gentle kiss. Unhurried, unrushed. When they drew back, they smiled at each other.

“Dad!” called Miltia from the living room. “You coming?”

“In a minute,” Junior called back. He leaned close to Roman and smirked. “Guess we’ll have to finish this later.” He pulled back from Roman and slipped around him to cut another slice of cake.

“Want one?” Junior asked. Roman took the slice and leaned up to peck him on the cheek. The two of them headed out into the living room, arms brushing as they walked.

Out in the living room, the news was on, and Roman wrinkled his brow. Hadn’t they been going to watch some new cheesy movie that Neo had been looking forward to?

“What’s on the news tonight?” he asked Neo, who was leaning forward on the couch with her hands over her mouth. She didn’t respond, instead, she kept staring.

“Girls?” asked Junior.

“Just listen,” said Melanie.

_“And it seems the increase in White Fang activity has turned violent once more,”_ said the woman on the screen. _“With robberies and injuries running rampant, the question has arisen: just when did this all start?”_

_“Agreed, Cherry,”_ said the man next to her. _“And with the White Fang utilizing stolen dust in their new crimes, security around dust is at an all-time high.”_ Roman felt himself pale. He stumbled and caught the back of the couch, dropping his cake. Melanie caught it and he faintly heard Junior calling his name and grabbing his shoulders.

“Roman?” called Junior. “What’s wrong?”

_Dust based crimes_. He knew where they’d gotten the dust.

How many people had died for that money?

“Roman?” Roman blinked a few times, vision clearing, and found himself sitting on the couch. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten there.

“Are you okay?” It was Junior, crouched in front of Roman, his hands on Roman’s shoulders.

“Yeah, I’m all right,” he said, softly. He rubbed a hand over his face. “Let’s watch the movie.” Junior frowned at him, still concerned, and Roman felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Neo, her fingers moving slowly to let Roman read them while he was disoriented.

_“You know where the dust came from,”_ she signed, and Roman swallowed hard.

“Yeah, I do, cupcake,” he said.

“What’s going on?” asked Junior.

Roman sighed. “Remember when I borrowed some of your boys, a month or two back, for a big robbery?” asked Roman.

“Yeah,” said Junior, slowly.

“And do you remember that I already had a buyer for the dust I stole?” asked Roman.

“Yeah,” said Junior, his brow furrowed.

Roman nodded to the TV, which was muted. “The buyer was Taurus. I think I know what they wanted the dust for now.” He shook his head, pressing his lips tightly together. “I never thought he was going to _kill_ people with it.” He sighed. “I guess I was stupid. Not every criminal doesn’t kill.”

“Not stupid, just trusting,” muttered Junior. He sighed. “We’ll do something about Taurus if he does anything else. My boys and I can get a lock on him sooner or later.”

“Right,” said Roman. Junior climbed onto the couch next to him and Roman leaned against him. “So, movie?”

Neo frowned, but turned the TV back to the movie screen with her scroll. She pulled up Return of the Griffon Grimm, Part 1, which Roman hadn’t seen yet, but he thought the cover was similar to the Nevermore Invasion movies.

The movie wasn’t really gripping, nor was it interesting enough to hold Roman’s attention. He ended up focusing more on Junior, who Roman had pressed himself into, than the movie itself.

It gave him time to think, anyway. About what he and Junior were. Sure, they had had sex – and it was _really_ good sex, probably the best Roman ever had – and they were disgustingly domestic. But he had to wonder just how deep it went. Junior hadn’t shown any interest in Roman up until Roman had kissed him. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was something. Either way, that prickle in Roman’s spine that told him to dig when he was missing information was there. And he planned to find out just what that was.

After Neo’s birthday, of course.

Once the movie was over, Neo put on a second one and then headed into the kitchen for more cake. Roman caught the tensing in her shoulders and followed after her. It was her birthday. She deserved to be happy.

“What’s up?” he asked her as they walked into the kitchen. He kept his voice low so as to not disturb the movie.

Neo hesitated. Then, _“Tukson was in the White Fang.”_ Her fingers were a little shaky.

“Yeah, he was,” said Roman. “We got him out, remember? That’s how we learned what your semblance was.”

_“I remember,”_ said Neo. Roman did too, far too vividly. He and Neo in disguises, pulling Tukson from a mission he’d never wanted to be on. The shout as they shot at the three, and the shattering of a mirror, the three of them far away all of a sudden. Neo’s mirror semblance was discovered, and they managed to escape.

_“Do you think he’d know what they’re up to?”_ asked Neo. Her fingers shook on the last word and Roman reached out and took her hands. They were cold.

“Maybe,” he said. He rubbed his hands over hers to try and warm them up, and also to try and take the quiver out of them. “We’ll ask him when he gets back. Okay?” She nodded, biting her lip.

“Hey,” said Roman. He released one of her hands and rested his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine. He’s got us; he’s safe.” Neo nodded again, one of her eyes going white as she blinked. Roman kissed her forehead before moving to cut her another slice of cake.

She tapped him on the arm and he looked over to her fingers.

_“If Tukson needs to run…_ ” She dropped her hands. The unsigned question lingering in the air.

“Then we help him run,” said Roman. “He’s family, Neo. We protect our own.”

Neo smiled and hugged him around the middle. Roman wrapped an arm around her and held her close. He needed to find out what the White Fang was up to, and soon. If it was bothering Neo, then it was bothering him. And with what he knew about Taurus… Well, suffice to say Roman wasn’t going to let it go.

“We’ll start as soon as Tukson gets back,” said Roman. “Sound good?” Neo nodded. She took the offered slice of cake, leaned up to kiss his cheek, and then darted back into the living room.

“She all right?” asked Junior, stepping into the kitchen as she left.

Roman nodded. “Yeah, just worried about White Fang stuff.” He sighed. “And Tukson.”

“You going to let her help you?” asked Junior. Roman’s lips twitched. Of course Junior had already figured out Roman was going to investigate.

“No,” said Roman. “She’s a hell of a criminal, but she’s still a kid. I don’t like pulling her into more than I have to.”

Junior nodded and padded toward him, slipping his arms around Roman’s waist to kiss his forehead. “She loves what she does do, though,” said Junior.

“She does,” agreed Roman. He slid his hands over Junior’s shoulders. “But she’s got a sadistic streak that worries me, and I don’t wanna do anything to aggravate it.”

Junior leaned in and kissed Roman, soft and sweet. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We?” asked Roman, furrowing his brow.

Junior’s ears turned red. “If you want the help, I’m here,” said Junior. “No matter what you’ve managed to get yourself into this time.”

Roman laughed, softly. “You’re too good to me.”

“Comes with the territory,” said Junior, shrugging.

Roman raised an eyebrow. “And what territory is that, big guy?”

Junior glanced away from Roman, a silent sigh passing through his lips. “We should, uh, we should probably talk about that, shouldn’t we?” he asked.

“Considering the girls think we’re getting married, probably,” said Roman, drily.

Junior made a choking noise and pulled away from Roman, his eyes wide. “Married?” he echoed, the disbelief strong in his voice.

And shit. Had Roman fucked up that quickly? “Uh, Neo made a joke,” said Roman. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Junior hummed, something in his eyes that was unrecognizable but infinitely soft. Then Junior was stepping forward and pulling Roman into a deep kiss. And Roman wound his arms around Junior’s neck and kissed him back just as deep. And Roman was walked back to the counter. Junior lifted him onto the counter, scarcely breaking contact, and slid his hands up Roman’s shirt.

With a hum, Roman pulled back, his eyes hooded and his pants tight.

“What was that for?” asked Roman, his voice a little rough with arousal.

Junior shrugged. “Felt like it.”

“Let it be known, that I am _not_ complaining,” murmured Roman, sliding his arms around Junior’s neck and kissing him again. And again. Until neither one of them wanted to separate but had to for air.

“Whatever happens, I’m here for you,” said Junior. “I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“Does this mean we’re boyfriends?” asked Roman, his tone teasing.

Junior blinked, then kissed Roman again. Pressing him back until Roman arched into his touch and groaned quietly.

“I’d like that,” Junior murmured against his lips. “Even if it does make us sound like a couple of necking teenagers.”

Roman smirked and curled his fingers into the short curls of Junior’s hair. “Well, if the shoe fits…”

Junior chuckled and kissed him again. And they kept kissing, Roman on the counter, Junior with one hand up Roman’s shirt, until one of the twins walked in and said,

“Ugh, you know people make food on those counters, right?”

Roman laughed and drew back, noticing Junior’s pink cheeks.

“Yeah, but it’s my kitchen, so if I wanna make out in it, I will,” said Roman. He pulled back enough to see that it was Melanie in the doorway.

She shrugged. “Eh, if you wanna be unsanitary,” she said. “Are you two gonna come watch the movie or are you gonna keep… doing that?”

“Movie,” said Junior, his voice rough. “We’ll be out in a minute.”

She hummed and left the kitchen with a new slice of cake.

Roman and Junior waited until she was gone, then stared at each other. They burst into laughter, cheeks bright and foreheads falling together.

“We should probably go,” said Junior.

Roman sighed. “Alas, the counters will have to be defiled another day.”

Junior pulled Roman off the counter, his hands lingering on Roman’s hips. “Oh, don’t give me ideas.”

Roman grinned. “We’re dating now, I’m allowed to.” And those words were the sweetest thing he’d come across all day. And, if Junior’s expression was anything to go by, he felt the same way.

Leaning up to press one last kiss to Junior’s lips, Roman pulled him toward the living room, where Neo was no doubt putting on yet another cheesy Grimm movie. Worries about the White Fang aside, it was a perfect day.


	7. Bombshell on the Bar Stool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's been a month. Sue me.
> 
> Comments are love!

Things continued mostly as normal for Roman and Junior, and they fell into a pattern of domesticity that Roman found himself enjoying far too much. A few weeks had passed since Neo’s birthday and Roman and Junior both had their ears to the streets to find out what the White Fang was up to. It wasn’t Roman’s usual affair, but they had used his stealing to hurt people, and he took personal offense to that.

Unfortunately, all their leads were coming up dry. No one had heard from Taurus since that last attack, and it seemed he’d pulled back most of his feelers in the underworld of Vale. That only worried Roman more. If Taurus had gone dark, that meant he was planning something. And if Taurus was planning something, then Vale was going to be in a hell of a lot more danger.

So, that night in the bar, Roman was pouring over the information he’d managed to scrounge up about the White Fang’s latest escapades. It was slim pickings, even with Junior’s connections, and Roman was growing slowly more frustrated in his searching.

“I’m sure we’ll find something,” said Junior. He was on bartending duty at the moment, but Nigel was there to help out, so Junior was mostly paying attention to Roman. “It’s only a matter of time before one of his lackeys leaves a trail.”

“Time that we may not have,” said Roman, tightly. He sighed and put a hand on his face. “I’m a thief, not a murderer.” But the words rang hollow. His thieving had killed people this year. How many more had died without his knowledge?

A hand rested on his shoulder and Junior smiled at him, soft and comforting. “We’ll find him and we’ll break his legs,” said Junior. “Among other things.”

Roman nodded. “Thanks, baby bear.”

“Don’t call me that ever again,” said Junior, but there was a light tease to his voice despite his serious expression.

Roman snorted at the combination and felt laughter bubble up passed his lips. Some of the weight on his shoulders lightened and he let himself relax, smiling up at Junior.

“Boss!” the shout came from near the door and Junior and Roman turned as one. A familiar blonde stalked into the club and toward the bar.

“You might want to disappear,” said Junior. Roman looked up at Junior, then at the blonde, who was hunched over despite her frustrated stomping.

“I can take her,” said Roman.

Junior shook his head. “No, you can’t. And I don’t think she’s here to fight, anyway. Let me talk to her.” Roman gave one last look at Junior, then let his gaze turn back to the blonde. Sure enough, her body language screamed pain, not anger, and there was a shadow over her face that was far too familiar to Roman. He sighed and nodded, standing.

“Stay safe,” said Roman.

“Always,” said Junior. He smiled. “I’m not _you_ , Roman.”

Roman snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh ha ha,” he said. He pressed his lips together and gathered up his papers. Then, he headed into the shadows of the club, slipping around to the stairs that led to the apartment.

Junior would tell him what was going on later, for now, he had more work to do.

* * *

 

Blondie dropped heavily onto one of the bar stools, her head in her hands and her elbows on the counter. She didn’t speak for a few minutes, just stared at her reflection in the black bar counter and let her hair hang around her to block out most of the club.

She circled one finger on a condensation ring that Junior hadn’t had a chance to wipe up yet. A soft sigh slipped from her lips and Junior set down his cleaning rag and the glass. Every inch of Blondie seemed to radiate pain and misery. Not frustration, but sadness. It took the light out of her eyes and her hair and left her shoulders drooping.

“You know,” said Junior, softly. Her gaze flicked up to him. Her purple eyes were mostly grey. “I still owe you a drink. Strawberry Sunrise with a little umbrella?”

She sighed again, shoulders slumping further. “Sure,” she said. Even her voice was defeated and soft. Weighed down by the turmoil of thoughts that swam behind her eyes. Junior knew that look. He’d seen it before – on Roman – and he couldn’t help the pang of sympathy he had for Blondie.

She was a teenage girl after all. And he was the father of two and the sometimes-caregiver of another. No matter what had gone down at the club beforehand, Blondie needed someone right now, and Junior’s instincts told him that that person should be him.

He mixed the drink, pouring the grenadine in last to form the sunrise effect the drink was famous for. Slipping a little umbrella into the drink, he slid it to her. She was probably seventeen, if she was a Beacon student, so she wasn’t technically old enough to drink. Junior didn’t really care, tonight. She looked like she needed it.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, before taking a deep swing. Half the drink was drained in one go. Junior wondered what her tolerance was like, or if the fires that had torched his floors could also burn alcohol out of her system. Or if it just made it worse.

“You wanna talk about it?” asked Junior.

She looked up at him, shadows in her eyes. “Talk about what?”

“Whatever brought you into my bar looking like someone died,” said Junior. “…Did someone die?” Blondie shook her head. “Good. Still though, kid, what are you doing here on a school night?”

Blondie swirled her finger around the edge of her glass, frowning. “Can’t go back to my dorm.”

“Why not?” asked Junior. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

Blondie sighed again. Her hair hung in her face. “There’s a girl.”

Instantly, Junior felt himself bristle. “They have a problem with that?” he asked, voice tight.

“No,” said Blondie, quickly. “No, my sister, Ruby, she’s cool with that. The others probably are. I dunno. I haven’t told them yet.” She sighed. “It’s not that. It’s that my – she – I.” She sighed. “She doesn’t know. None of them know.”

Junior watched as Blondie threw back the rest of her drink. “So, just dealing with unrequited feelings? Conflicted thoughts and your own frustrations eating you from the inside out?”

Blondie nodded. “Exactly. How did you…?”

Junior’s gaze went to the balcony, which Roman was leaning on. He hadn’t gone into the apartment yet, it seemed. A soft smile crossed his face. “I know a lot about unrequited feelings, kid.”

Blondie turned and looked at Roman, eyes narrowed. She turned back to him and said, “You sure those are unrequited?”

“Up until about three weeks ago? They were,” said Junior. He shrugged. “Things change. They could for you too.”

“You think?” asked Blondie, and there was a hope in her voice that made Junior’s heart pang for her. She bit her lip, staring down at her reflection in the countertop, and Junior caught the glimmer of hope in her eyes. The way the purple slowly leaked back into them, drawing the washed-out grey-blue that had overwhelmed them out.

“You never know unless you try,” said Junior.

Blondie sighed. “What if it goes terribly?”

Junior thought about it for a moment. “That’s always a possibility, Blondie, but you can’t always focus on worst case scenarios. I did. Never got me anywhere.”

“How did it change?” she asked.

“He told me, actually,” said Junior, drily. “So I probably shouldn’t be talking about how to deal with any of this. He should.”

Blondie snorted. “Oh yeah, because I’m gonna go to Roman Torchwick for love advice. That’d go over _great_.” She rolled her eyes and leaned her elbows pretty heavily against the counter.

“He’s not a bad guy,” said Junior.

“He tried to blow up my sister.”

“ _After_ she tried to blow up my boys,” Junior replied. “He’s protective.”

Blondie propped up her chin in her hand. “He was trying to rob a Dust shop. He could have hurt someone.”

“Not his style,” said Junior, easily. His gaze went back to the balcony. Roman was still watching, head cocked to one side.

Blondie sighed. “All right, all right, I concede,” she said.

Junior raised an eyebrow. “That’s not usually your style.”

“No,” agreed Blondie. “But I’m feeling generous today.” They both laughed, though hers sounded a tad hollower. There was a long pause, then Blondie said, “You think it’d work out? I mean, she is my partner. I’m stuck with her for _four years_ if things go to hell.”

“If you’re so worried, then feel it out,” said Junior. “I did. By the time Roman said something, I was about to make a move myself.”

“Yeah?” asked Blondie, head cocked to one side.

“Yeah,” said Junior. It was mostly true. He hadn’t known how Roman felt, not really, because Roman was so loud about everything else in his life. But he’d had an inkling as to what all his crazy schemes had been about. A curious tickle in the back of his mind from how all three girls looked at Roman. He’d told himself that if Roman hadn’t said anything before Neo’s birthday, Junior would say something afterward. He just hadn’t wanted to make her birthday awkward.

But then Roman had kissed him and well… everything else had slotted into place, so to speak.

“I think I’ll do that,” said Blondie. “I don’t wanna jump to conclusions or do something dumb, ya know? That’s usually how I roll, but… not for this.”

Junior nodded. “I understand that.”

“Yeah,” said Blondie. She pushed back from the bar stool and stood, grinning. “Thanks, Junior. That was some pretty good advice.”

He shrugged. “It’s what I’m here for, Blondie.”

She nodded and headed off, only to pause before she got out of earshot. “Oh, and Junior?” she said. He looked up. “It’s Yang.”

“Yang,” he echoed, smiling. “Have a good night.”

She gave him a two-fingered salute and headed out of the club. Junior picked up his cleaning rag and went back to wiping down the bar. After a minute, Roman hopped up onto one of the stools.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Nothing,” said Junior. “She just wanted some advice.”

“Fair enough,” said Roman. He looked at Junior, head tilted slightly and hat shadowing his eyes. “You feel like ordering out tonight? It’s late and I’m _starved_.”

Junior narrowed his eyes. “Not noodles.”

With a snap of his fingers, Roman said, “Not noodles.” He gave a put-upon sigh. “Yeah, I’ll get us some chicken, sound good?”

“Sounds perfect,” said Junior, and he leaned over the bar and pressed a soft kiss to Roman’s lips.


	8. Dinner and a Brawl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE PLOT THICKENS. And so do Neo's punning skills.

Roman flicked through the dinner suggestions one last time, frowning. Half of these places needed a reservation, which wasn’t flying, but some of the decent ones didn’t. It was just a matter of avoiding the dinner rush and getting a nice booth.

He’d wanted to take Junior out on a proper date for a while now, but the thought of dragging the girls out with them was far more appealing. They always made everything much more lively, and he enjoyed the way the twins and Neo were such good friends. It made the five of them feel almost like a family sometimes.

And god, if that wasn’t a horribly domestic thought.

So he picked a decent restaurant, counted himself lucky that most people didn’t know what the hell he looked like, and took the five of them out for dinner that night.

The restaurant was on the edge of Vale, and they arrived at sunset. Neo had taken the time to shove herself and the twins into some nice dresses – Neo’s had something like four bows on it, which was not nearly enough bows, in Roman’s opinion – and Roman had ditched his usual get-up for a nice turtleneck. He’d even managed to stuff Junior into a different button-up, a black one that showed off his arms better.

They ordered and chatted, giggling and laughing as they cracked jokes and did terrible impressions of some of the less fortunate people they’d run in to other the last two years. Junior had some great stories about strange people who’d come into the club, and Neo’s fingers danced in the air as she spun a fairy tale-esque story about Nigel and Mike, and how the two of them faced down the great Ursae threat in the kingdom of DANCE!

She even managed to spell it out with all capital letters and an exclamation mark. Roman was impressed. And a little proud.

The twins ended up with chicken, Junior with pasta, Roman with crab, and Neo with a steak the size of her head. Roman raised an eyebrow at it when he saw Neo grin.

He’d seen the weight of the thing. He figured she’d taken it as a challenge when the server told her to get a smaller one.

He would have too, honestly. Though he’d done stranger things because people told him he couldn’t.

Like rob a bank in Atlas. That had been fun. Until he’d almost gotten caught, disappeared into the sewers, and ruined his new shoes.

He’d liked those shoes. But it had been worth it to stay out of the papers. No one knew his face. He preferred it that way.

Roman bumped his foot against Junior’s leg and grinned when Junior jumped. He did it again and the tips of Junior’s ears turned red as he kept eating. Slowly stroked up Junior’s leg to the inseam of his pants, then brushed back down. Junior’s neck steadily grew redder and redder.

“You know we know you’re playing footsie, right?” said Miltia.

“Yeah,” said Melanie. “Can you at least wait until we’re done eating?”

Roman grinned and planted both his feet on the floor. “I suppose if I must, for the sake of my boyfriend’s children,” he said, with an over-dramatic sigh, one hand over his heart. Neo snorted.

“You know we’re basically your daughters now too, right?” asked Miltia. Junior choked on his pasta and Melanie smacked Miltia’s head. “Ow! What?”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit fast?” asked Melanie.

“They literally got together because they fucked,” said Miltia. “And they did so loud enough that we _broke a speaker_ trying to cover up Roman.” Miltia gave them all a flat look. “I’m allowed to call him my new, small dad.”

“What does that make Junior, a giant dad?” asked Roman.

Melanie rolled her eyes and leaned back against the booth. “No, he’s a normal sized dad. _Duh._ ”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Honey, there’s nothing normal sized about Junior.”

Both the twins wrinkled their noses. “Ew!” they exclaimed together. Junior looked scandalized. Neo look determined as she attacked her steak. She was about a third of the way through it now and still going strong.

“Roman, please,” said Junior, one hand on his face.

 Neo snorted and kept at her dinner, not bothering to take her hands off her utensils to talk to them. Roman wondered if it bothered her. When it was just the two of them, he tended to keep up an endless stream of commentary, but she hadn’t said much since they sat down.

“You okay?” he asked Neo, nudging her with one arm. She nodded, mouth full of steak, and then attacked it again. Half gone now and she seemed determined to make it to the end.

“That is a lot of meat,” said Junior.

Roman shrugged. “What can I say, liking meat runs in the family,” he said, shrugging. Junior snorted.

Neo dropped her utensils and signed. _“Actually, I prefer fruit – peaches, to be specific.”_

Roman broke off into cackles, slumping against the booth with tears in his eyes. Junior and the twins looked puzzled. They hadn’t picked up all of it, it seemed.

“Did you just come out to me with a fucking _pun_?” asked Roman. His voice was low and amused, a grin lighting his features. She nodded and Roman shook his head. She’d never shown an interest in dating – or in people, beyond the ones in the booth – but apparently she had been keeping that from him.

“Neo’s gay?” asked Miltia.

“Don’t assume,” said Melanie. “She could be bi, or ace.”

“She’s gay,” said Roman. He paused. “You don’t mind me telling them that, do you?”

Neo gave him a flat look and dropped her utensils again with a long, drawn-out sigh that rivalled Roman’s earlier one.

_“No, obviously.”_ And Roman was amazed at how sarcastic she managed to make the second one. _“Seriously, Dad?”_

“Baby bear, help,” said Roman, pouting. “She’s making fun of me.”

“I’m not her mother, Roman, what am I supposed to do?” asked Junior, sounding more than a touch amused.

Neo gave a quiet yip, waving her arms and grinning as her eyes lit up.

She crossed her hands over her chest and curled her fingers, then raised her thumb to chin, fingers pointed toward the sky. Roman blinked. She did it again. He finally understood the gesture.

“Bear mom?” he asked, grinning. Laughter bubbled up from his lips and he wiped at the tears in his eyes. “You wanna call him _bear mom_?”

Neo nodded vigorously.

Roman turned his thousand watt smile on Junior. “What do you think, baby bear?” asked Roman.

Junior sighed – no doubt at his own pet name – then turned his attention to Neo. “I’m honoured to be called a parent, no matter which one it is.”

Neo grinned and dug back into her steak. Roman reached out with one leg and locked ankles with one of Junior’s. He smiled at Junior across the table, eyes warm, as they finished their dinner.

* * *

 

They decided to walk part way home instead of grabbing a taxi. It was a warm, clear night, and Junior put an arm around Roman’s shoulders as they walked through the park. The girls were ahead of them, arguing about the logistics of using nail polish as a poison.

Neo, in all her determination, had not only finished the giant steak, but also the ends of both Miltia and Melanie’s dinners. Roman had to wonder if she’d sleep tonight.

“Those girls are something else,” muttered Roman.

“They really are,” said Junior. “I blame you.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “I’ve only known them for what, two years now?” he asked.

“Yup,” said Junior. The two watched the twins try and explain the concept of _not picking the pockets of random strangers_ to Neo. It seemed they were losing. Neo was holding four. One of which was sparkly.

Neo turned, wallets falling from her hands and eyes narrowed. She blinked and one of her eyes turned white. A yelp fell from her lips and a moment later a pair of figures flew out from the bushes.

Neo dropped her parasol and came up to block the figures. Spun, kicked, and booted herself up over their head and sent them stumbling into the other. Blinked and both eyes turned brown and narrowed.

“Girls, back,” said Junior. The twins stepped back, neither one of them armed. But then, only Roman and Neo walked around with their weapons. Roman flipped his cane over and smacked a third figure as he came barrelling into view. Shifted around so he and Neo had their backs to each other, weapons raised and bodies ready.

“We’ve got this,” said Roman. Junior pulled the twins behind them, who raised their fists, shifting into defensive positions.

More figures appeared and Roman finally recognized them.

“White Fang,” growled Roman. “What do you want?”

“Taurus wants to talk to you, Torchwick,” said one with a pair of dog ears.

Roman scoffed, flipped open the end of his cane, and shot a firework rocket at them. It exploded, sending them scattering.

“Not a chance,” he snapped.

Neo darted forward. Half a dozen White Fang members now surrounded them. Junior kept the twins away from them, shifting around as needed.

Neo caught one across the chest. Shifted. Up and over the guy as she booted him in the chest. Went into a backflip with the momentum and booted another guy in the head. Roman swung around them, cane moving impossibly fast as he twisted and jerked around them. Chest, arm, leg, face, tagging each spot on each member with deadly precision.

They dropped like rocks until only two remained. Neo pulled the cane-blade from her parasol and aimed it at one of them. Blinked. Her eyes went pink. Roman stepped in close to Junior and wrapped a hand around Junior’s wrist.

“Hang on to the girls,” he said, softly. Junior grabbed them.

Neo grinned. Blinked again. Both brown. Then one white. The guy swung out at her and the whole world shattered around Roman.

He was falling. Tumbling and spinning until he landed, in the same position they’d disappeared, almost two blocks away.

Neo swayed, grimacing with one hand to her head. The streets were mostly abandoned. Roman caught her shoulders and tilted her head toward him.

“You good?” he asked.

She nodded, blinking. Her eyes kept shifting, unable to settle.

“All right,” said Roman. He dropped a kiss to her forehead and glanced to Junior. “I think it’s time we step up our game, baby bear.”

Junior nodded. “Agreed,” he said. “We have work to do.” A shadow passed across his face. “No one touches my family.”

Roman nodded, his own chest tight.

Taurus wanted a fight? He’d damn well get one. And he’d regret the day he’d ever come after Roman Torchwick and his family.


	9. The Thief and the Butcher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't get bonus points for guessing who shows up this chapter. Tee-hee.
> 
> Friendly reminder that most pairings and things are marked in the first chapter's notes.
> 
> Regular updates are resuming for this fic too! Hope y'all enjoy as we delve deeper into the Crime Dad's lives.

Roman wasn’t usually out at three in the morning, especially not with how much of a family man he had become lately, but tonight he found himself out late into the night, heading home after scoping out a suspected White Fang location. It was a warm night, warm and bright with the twinkling lights of the city and the stars staring down at him. The location itself had proven to have a few leads, and Roman was content to wait until morning to scope out anything else.

He whistled to himself, hands in his pockets and gaze wandering. There were leads on Adam, he had a good family, and Neo was teaching Junior and the twins more sign language. Most noticeably, the signs for “small dad” and “heart eyes motherfucker”. Roman didn’t know how he felt about that last one. Too many opportunities for mockery. Besides, Junior was starting to realize just how often Neo used that particular sign on Roman.

But Neo was Neo, and Roman wouldn’t change her for the world.

All in all, it was a good evening to be Roman Torchwick.

Just as he thought that, there was a crash from a nearby alleyway, and Roman paused two steps past it. He sighed. Of course he’d jinxed it by thinking that. But this wasn’t his business. He could keep going. He could walk away and pretend he hadn’t heard anything. Just go home, snuggle with Junior, and pretend he didn’t hear cursing in the alleyway.

Then, “Mercury hold still, you’re hurt.” Roman paused again. The panic in the feminine voice made Roman narrow his eyes. He turned around, hesitating, and pressed his lips together. “Hang on, hang on.”

“I’m fine, Emmie.”

“Don’t call me that. We should go to a hospital.”

A snort. “Yeah, that’d go over well,” said the lower of the two voices.

Roman took the few steps toward the alleyway and frowned. Then, taking a deep breath and holding his cane tightly, he turned into the alleyway.

It took the green-haired one three seconds to notice him. By the time she turned, Roman had already focused his gaze on the silver-haired one, whose rolled up pants’ leg revealed a metal knee.

Greenie stepped in front of silver and said, “He’s with me. Don’t even try.” Roman felt a pressure behind his eyes and closed them, head to the side of his head. The world spun and when he looked up, the two were gone.

“How…?” he started. A scuff of dirt nearby made Roman narrow his eyes. “Illusionist,” he murmured. “Clever.”

A flicker in his vision, then the two were reappearing, stumbling down the alleyway away from him. Roman sighed. He should have walked away. He should have forgotten these two existed. He should have gone home to his own kids and his boyfriend and left well alone.

So of course he headed after them.

“Look, I don’t want to hurt you two,” said Roman. He swung his cane behind him and held it under one arm. The limp on the guy made Roman wonder how extensive those prosthetics were. Just the one leg? Or both?

“As if,” muttered Greenie.

“Emerald,” said the guy, voice tight. Emerald immediately stopped and set him down, turning to face Roman again.

“Look, I don’t know what you want,” said Emerald. She lifted her hands, fists clenched. “But I won’t let you hurt us. I can handle myself.”

Roman nodded. “I don’t doubt it,” said Roman easily. “But your semblance isn’t holding, which means your aura is low, which means you haven’t eaten properly in a while.” His gaze flicked to the guy, who he still didn’t have a name for. She’d called him something, before. Mercury? Maybe it was a nickname, like Emmie. Hrm. “And he needs a mechanic that knows that leg better than you do.”

“So what, you’re offering help?” said the guy.

“Yeah,” said Roman. “Yeah, I am.”

Emerald folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I call bullshit.” Roman felt the pressure behind his eyes again and winced, waving her off.

“Will you _cut that out_?” he asked, throwing a glare at her.

Emerald’s eyes went wide. “You can feel that?”

“Yeah,” said Roman. “And it’s _annoying._ ” He rubbed his head and grimaced. A headache was building up behind his eyes, burning his teeth and making his ears pound.

Honestly, what was up with kids these days? All of them were so angry and rude. These two probably had a reason, mind you, but that didn’t excuse the lack of tact. If you had a semblance that so obviously betrayed its presence, you distracted someone first.

“You shouldn’t be able to,” said Emerald, taking a step back. She glanced to the guy again. “Mercury, we need to go.”

Mercury – so that _was_ his name, good to know – winced as he tried to get up. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere,” he muttered. It was just low enough that Roman had to strain to hear him, and he pressed his lips together. This was a bad idea. Emerald wanted him hurt, by the looks of it, and Mercury just looked tired. God, they both looked so tired.

And as he looked at them, his mind chased itself back, way back, to when he was just about their age. And then he was looking back at himself at seventeen years old. Dirty and mangy – a street rat with a snarl and a distrust of everyone. He would even bet Emerald was a thief. She moved too much like he had at that age.

They needed help. They didn’t want it, but they needed it. Roman swallowed. He couldn’t leave them. Not like this. He’d never forgive himself.

“I’m not going to do anything that could hurt you two,” said Roman, slowly. “I know a club, not far from here. My boyfriend runs it. If I took you there, he could give you food, water, some medical attention.” His gaze went to Mercury. “Mechanical attention too.” His gaze went back to Emerald, whose fear filled eyes were contrasted sharply by the sneer in her tight jaw. “Then you can steal the wallets of half the people there and take off, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Mercury.

Emerald scowled. “I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like anything,” said Mercury.

“That’s not true,” said Emerald. She shot a hard look at him. “I like you, don’t I?”

Mercury didn’t respond to that, just looked away. Emerald turned her attention back to Roman, who was busy raising an eyebrow at all this.

“If this turns out to be a trap, I’ll make you swallow your own tongue,” she said.

Roman nodded. “That’s… fair, actually.” He gestured to the mouth of the alleyway. “Come on, I’ll lead the way.”

* * *

 

When Roman brought Emerald and Mercury through the front door of the club – after making sure Mercury’s pants had been fixed so that no one saw his metal leg – he hadn’t been expecting anyone to notice him. As it stood, that remained true until he got the two to the bar, wherein he found Neo perched on the counter, teaching signs to Junior, who leaned against it.

“Hey, Ro,” said Junior, voice warm as he turned his smile to Roman. Roman smiled back and watched as Neo squinted at his companions.

“This is Emerald and Mercury,” said Roman. He dropped his voice as he leaned in to peck Junior. “They need our help,” he murmured against Junior’s lips.

Junior eyed the two, who were both tense and swinging their gazes around the bar, even as Mercury leaned on Emerald. “There’s a booth in the corner,” said Junior, pointing, “if you two want some privacy. Good angles for viewing too. Food? Drink?”

“I want to watch you prepare it,” said Emerald.

“’Course,” said Junior, easily. “Why don’t you go put your friend down and we’ll do that.”

Emerald nodded, eyes narrowed, and helped Mercury limp over to the booth in question. Once she was out of earshot, Junior swung his gaze back to Roman, brow furrowed.

“Runaways?” he guessed. Roman nodded. There was a tap on his shoulder and he looked over to see Neo, still perched on the counter, frowning at him.

 _“Why are they here?”_ she signed, head cocked to one side.

“They needed our help,” said Roman. He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pants’ pockets. “I wasn’t about to let them fall apart in an alleyway.”

 _“Why not?”_ asked Neo, jaw visibly working.

“If I had that attitude about everyone, I never would have pulled you out of a dumpster, Neo,” said Roman, keeping his voice soft.

Neo visibly faltered, hands clenching and unclenching before she dropped her gaze and turned away from Roman. He couldn’t help but feel bad for bringing that up, but he also didn’t want Neo to try and run Emerald and Mercury out of the club, like she had with so many people who had taken an interest in Roman in the past. As it stood, he never would have pursued Junior if Neo hadn’t been so gung-ho about it.

Jealousy, it ran in the family. And even if they weren’t family by blood – Roman didn’t think he’d ever stumbled into bed with someone who could have children – he loved her like a daughter. She _was_ his daughter. And she had enough of him in her that it made him proud to see everything she did.

She was sixteen years old. Roman had found her when she was at six months. Sometimes he wondered if she forgot she wasn’t his by blood. She knew, but then, so did he. And he forgot all the time.

 _“She’s coming back,”_ signed Neo in the corner of Roman’s vision.

Roman looked up and, sure enough, there came Emerald, still tense and glancing back at Mercury every few steps. He was propped up in the corner of the booth, half curled up and looking more exhausted than Roman had thought he was.

“So, food?” asked Junior. Emerald nodded, and she, Roman, and Junior headed into the backroom, careful to keep the door open and unblocked. Roman cast a look back at Neo, who frowned at him. She pushed off the counter and walked off, shoulders tight.

But when Roman went to step away, something almost… scared flashed in Emerald’s eyes. And he realized, a moment later, that to Emerald, he was about to leave her alone with a guy two or three times her size, in a tiny room, with no way to defend herself except that weird semblance of hers.

Roman stepped to the side and leaned against the wall, arms folded and body relaxed, as Junior prepared some food and got some water for Emerald. She took both, clinging to them tightly, and scurried off.

“Neo’s not happy,” murmured Roman once Emerald was gone. Junior sighed.

“I didn’t think she was,” said Junior. “You know how she is, Roman. She took a while to warm up to the twins and I too. She’ll be fine.” He slipped his arms around Roman and hugged him from behind, kissing his hair. “Besides,” he said. “It’s just for one night. We’ll put them up in a motel and they’ll be gone by the time we close up for the night.”

“Right,” said Roman. He looked out the back room and saw the edge of Emerald and Mercury in the booth, both of them eating slowly, bodies coiled tight. Mercury still needed medical attention, plus his leg was in bad shape. Emerald was obviously running on nothing. Both of them were skinny and emaciated and obviously exhausted.

And god if Emerald didn’t remind Roman of himself. And god if Mercury wasn’t like half the guys he’d found face down in gutters after bad fights. And god, if all of this wasn’t some horrific memory played on repeat, showing him what he’d been like as a teenager. What he’d been before he could afford to be who he was now.

But it was just for one night. Then they’d be gone.

He could handle that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!
> 
> Also I'm 75% sure this story is going to have Emercury in it, so please let me know what you think about that.


	10. Starless Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have excuses. It's summer. I hate it. I'll try to post as regularly as I can. In other news, next chapter, Chapter 11, is the halfway point of this lovely story! Hope y'all are enjoying it so far. <3

Roman awoke sometime around three with a feeling of wrongness curling in his stomach. It churned low in his gut, making him grimace as he sat up and rubbed at his mouth. He knew that feeling well – it meant Neo was missing.

He peeled himself out of Junior’s soft, warm embrace, murmuring an apology and a “be right back” when Junior stirred, and padded out to the living room. On the couch, passed out and tangled together, were Emerald and Mercury. Emerald lifted her head from Mercury’s chest when Roman stepped into the room.

“Looking for Neo,” whispered Roman. Emerald nodded and lowered her head again, but Roman felt her gaze on him as he toed on his shoes and slipped out of the apartment above the club.

He hesitated for a moment at the stairs – one set led down, into the club and to street level, the other led up, to the roof and the sky – before heading up. Neo wouldn’t walk Vale this late at night, it wasn’t her style.

She wasn’t him, after all.

Roman stepped out onto the roof and stared up at the mostly starless night sky. It was a clear night, but in the heart of Vale, the city lights blocked out most of the stars. It was something Roman rarely considered, but now, looking up at the sky, he remembered teaching Neo the constellations, back when they’d been on the run.

At the edge of the roof, with her arms wrapped around her tucked-up legs, sat Neo. She stared up at the stars, her head tilted back and her hair blowing gently in the late night – or was it early morning? – breeze.

“Hey, Neo,” said Roman, softly. He padded up to her and sat down on her right, resting his arms behind him and keeping his eyes on her. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Neo glanced at him, then back at the stars. Her fingers didn’t move.

Roman sighed, softly, and combed his fingers through his unruly bedhead. “I’m sorry.” Neo tilted her head at his words. “For earlier. I shouldn’t have said that to you.” He shook his head and looked up at the moon – mostly shattered, barely there. “You’re my daughter, Neo. It wasn’t right of me to use how that started against you.” A pause. “I’m sorry.”

There was a long moment when nothing happened. Then, Neo lifted her hands and signed a single phrase. _“I miss you.”_

Roman frowned. He shifted forward, resting his hands on his legs and tilting his head at Neo. “I haven’t left.”

Neo shrugged and looked away from him.

“Hey,” said Roman. He reached out and rested his hand on her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he turned her head back toward him. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Neo sighed, the sound mostly breath. Her hands were shaking as she raised them to sign. Roman frowned. It had been a while since he’d seen her shake this badly. She dropped her arms and wrapped them around her knees, sniffling as she buried her face into them.

“Is this about Junior?” asked Roman. Neo shook her head, then nodded, then sighed and shrugged. It said nothing.

It said everything.

“Talk to me,” said Roman.

Neo whined and gritted her teeth. Dropped her legs and let out something like a _snarl_ as she raised her hands. _“I can’t.”_ The venom she got into those two signs made Roman cringe. _“That’s the whole problem. I can’t talk. And half the time I can’t understand when other people talk to me. And now you have two girls who you can talk to all the time. And a boyfriend you can whisper to. And then there’s me. Stupid, broken me.”_

Roman faltered and stared at Neo. “You’re not…” He stopped, lifted his own hands. _“You’re not broken,”_ he signed, making sure his fingers were visible to her. _“And you know I can sign. I just talk because it’s easier for me.”_

_“Dad…”_

_“Neo.”_ His fingers were firm, so was his face.

 _“They can barely understand me,”_ signed Neo. Her lip trembled as she signed. She refused to look at him. _“Miltia and Melanie try, but I can’t say the words, so it’s harder to teach them. And Junior’s always busy with work.”_ She signed Junior as a short form for ‘bear mom’. Thumb on her chin, fingers splayed and pointed upward before curling twice in quick succession. _“And now these two are here and they can’t understand me either.”_

Roman faltered. Neo wiped at her eyes. She sniffled, lip trembling. She still wouldn’t look at him.

“I… I didn’t realize.”

 _“That’s because I didn’t tell you.”_ If there was a way to make signs look self-deprecating, Neo had managed it. Her shoulders sagged. Her lip kept trembling. Tears slipped from her eyes. “ _I’m just tired of being alone. I’m tired of people not understanding me.”_

Stillness. Different from silence. Roman and Neo spent a lot of time in silence. Stillness was something else entirely.

 _“I miss you.”_ Her fingers hung in the air for a moment and Roman sighed softly. He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to really put together the words to apologize any further. To ask what he could do. Obviously, his first step was going to be to teach the twins and Junior more sign language. He’d been meaning to for a while, and the fact that he hadn’t was just him taking for granted that Neo had never seemed to mind.

But she did mind. Quite a lot, by the looks of it.

He grimaced.

“The other two are leaving tomorrow,” said Roman.

Neo snorted. _“We both know you won’t let them leave.”_

“How do you know that?” asked Roman.

Neo shrugged. _“Same way I know anything else. I know you, Dad.”_ She looked up at him, eyes soft and both pink. She blinked and one went white. Roman fought the urge to pull her close and hold her forever. _“You’ve always taken in strays.”_

“You’re not a stray,” said Roman. The words were heavy in his mouth, thick on his tongue. He forced the rest out even as he blinked hard and tried to steady his voice. “You were _never_ a stray. Yeah, maybe I found you instead of getting you the more traditional way, but that has never made you less my daughter, all right? You are _mine_.”

He took a deep breath to pull the growl out of his voice. “Do you know how old I am?”

Neo blinked. Both brown. Both pink. Then both white. _“Thirty-three.”_

“That means I was seventeen when I found you,” said Roman. He turned and folded his legs so he could face her properly. Hesitantly, she turned and faced him properly as well. “Seventeen. I was broke, scared, hungry, and I looked out for no one but myself. But I heard you crying – this tiny baby with this strangled cry that I could barely hear or understand. I heard you, and I followed your voice to you.” He reached out and rested his hand on her cheek. She leaned into it.

“It would have been so easy to leave you. It would have been so easy to walk away from that dumpster and never look back,” said Roman. “But I couldn’t do it.” He blinked, aware of the tears gathering in his eyes. Fuck, at least he wasn’t wearing make-up. It couldn’t run. “I couldn’t do it because I took one look at you and I knew I loved you.”

He sniffled. Neo was crying freely now, her tears sliding over his hand and dripping onto her nightgown. “I was never heartless. It’s not in me to be some heartless, greedy vagabond like it is for some crooks. I stayed small-time, because I had you to go home to. I needed to keep you safe. I needed to raise you.” He flexed his free hand and Neo reached out, wrapping both her hands in his. “You’ve always been my daughter, Neo,” his voice cracked as tears slipped down his face, “and maybe I didn’t always do the best job at raising you, but I tried, and I’m still trying, and I’m asking for your help.”

She nodded, blinking hard as tears slipped down her face.

“I don’t know what I’d be if I hadn’t found you,” whispered Roman, his voice a croak. “I don’t even know if I’d still be human, instead of some heartless, greed-obsessed _monster._ ” He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. “I love you, kid. We may not be related by blood, but I have _always_ been your father, and I would sooner burn this world to the damn ground than let you think you were losing me. Okay?”

She nodded quickly and vigorously. Took her hands from his and raised them.

_“You’re not going to kick them out, though.”_

Roman faltered, grimaced, and sighed. “No,” he agreed. “Probably not.” He combed his fingers through his hair. “Fuck.”

Neo cocked an eyebrow at him, amusement twisting her lips.

“What, you wanna start up another swear jar?” asked Roman.

_“That depends.”_

“On what?”

_“Am I allowed to count the ones coming out of your room when you think I’m asleep?”_

Roman choked and gagged, coughing hard as he felt his entire face flush and embarrassment race up his spine in a hot, tight flash. What? No. _Fuck._ “I am _so_ sorry.”

Neo shrugged.

“Neo, I am _so_ sorry,” he repeated, putting his head in his hands. “I am so, so sorry. I never meant for you to hear any of that.” Roman combed his fingers back through his hair and cleared his throat. “Maybe we should sleep at our own apartment for a while.”

 _“What about the two on the couch?”_ asked Neo. _“We live in a two-bedroom apartment. Junior’s isn’t much bigger. Where do we put them?”_

“I don’t know,” said Roman. He exhaled harshly and combed his fingers through his hair again. Cursed under his breath. “Fuck, Neo, I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I wasn’t supposed to let them stay for more than a night, but you know me, you know I will. She’s…” Roman thought of Emerald’s harsh eyes. The hunger. The fear. The exhaustion. She had barely been able to stand and she’d still been willing to fight him with everything she had.

 _“She’s just like you.”_ Neo’s words sketched into the night sky, lingering behind Roman’s eyes.

“Yeah. She is.”

 _“Then we can’t get rid of her,”_ signed Neo. _“She needs us.”_

Roman nodded. “Yeah, she does. They both do, I think, but not as much as they need each other." He looked up to the mostly starless sky, to the mostly shattered moon and its faint glow. He thought of Neo, tiny and scared, the first time Roman had pulled her out of a bad mission. He thought of Junior’s soft eyes and softer words, ready to put himself at risk to hunt down Adam Taurus and stop the White Fang from whatever it was they were doing. He thought of the twins, Miltia and Melanie, and how they had argued with Roman, over and over, about what they were capable of.

But mostly he thought of himself, young and stupid, trying to care for a toddler that he shouldn’t have had. He thought of himself, broken and scared, cradling Neo close in a dumpster as people with guns looked for them. He thought of Neo and himself. He thought of them, as a team, as father and daughter, as child and adult, and as partners.

“It’s up to you,” said Roman. “You know I’ll follow your call on stuff like this.”

 _“It’s up to them.”_ Neo’s words were small and Roman barely caught them. _“Whatever they decide, I’m fine with._ ”

Roman leaned over, threw an arm around Neo’s shoulders, and kissed her forehead. “Me too,” he said. “Now come on, let’s head back inside. We both need our rest.”

Neo nodded and, together, the two headed across the roof and back inside. Whatever happened tomorrow, they could handle it together and with Junior and the twins.

After all, that was what family was all about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	11. Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after. Redux.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And more updates resume! This time on a new computer. Oh la la. We're working into the overarching plot of the story now, but the cute romance will remain to some degree. Cheers! Hope y'all like it.

Roman woke up that morning with worry gnawing at his gut. He didn’t want to get out of bed, to unwrap himself from Junior’s warm, comforting embrace, and face the complicated mess he’d created the day before. His talk with Neo had solved some things, but not enough for Roman to have any idea what he was doing today.

So, instead of getting up out of bed and facing the day, he kept himself curled against Junior, his hands on Junior’s chest and his face tucked against Junior’s shoulder. So long as he didn’t get up, he didn’t have to face the day.

That lasted all of five minutes before Junior’s low rumble stirred next to his ear. “Do you plan on getting up, or should I pretend we’re both asleep some more?”

Roman grimaced against Junior’s shoulder, but he pushed himself off Junior nonetheless. “Yeah, yeah, I’m getting up,” he said. He twisted around and let his legs hang off the bed, his fingers curled white-knuckled against the sheets.

“Hey,” said Junior. There was a shifting behind Roman, then Junior’s hands were on his shoulders, rubbing slow circles as he pressed a kiss to the side of Roman’s head. “Talk to me.”

“It’s nothing,” said Roman. He tilted his head so that Junior could trail his pecks down to Roman’s shoulders. “I’m just stressed.”

Junior hummed against his shoulder. “Mm, lots of things to be stressed about. Which is it this morning?”

“The kids,” said Roman. Then realizing there were a lot of them, he clarified, “Emerald and Mercury. I don’t know what to do about them.”

Junior pressed another kiss to Roman’s shoulder before straightening up and wrapping his arms right around Roman, resting his chin on Roman’s shoulder. Roman leaned back into the touch, closing his eyes and feeling the way Junior’s chest rose and fell against his back.

“Well, what are you thinking?” asked Junior.

“I don’t want to kick them out,” said Roman. “They’re… she’s…”

“I know,” said Junior, softly. And he did. Roman had told him this story enough times. “We’ll talk to them. If they want to stay, we can find room, here or at your place.”

Roman nodded, still keeping his eyes closed. The two sat there, wrapped around each other, for a few minutes in perfect silence. Roman was just drifting off again when he heard the bedroom door in the next room open, indicating that one of their three girls were awake.

“We should get up,” said Junior.

“Yeah,” sighed Roman. He wiggled out of Junior’s hug and stood, stretching languidly before looking back over his shoulder. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” said Junior. He stood and dropped another kiss to the corner of Roman’s mouth before slipping past him and heading out the door and toward the kitchen. Roman followed a moment later, rubbing at his eyes to clear the sleep from them.

The sight that greeted him in the living room was a little hilarious. Emerald and Mercury were perched on one side of the couch, staring at Neo, who was walking on her hands in nothing but a pair of pyjama pants and a lacy pink bra. The look on Mercury’s face was the best one – he looked torn between abject horror and downright embarrassment.

“Neo, shirt,” said Roman. Neo flipped back onto her feet and rolled her eyes, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

_“Shirts suck,”_ she signed, but she headed toward the bedroom she’d be sharing with the twins nonetheless. Roman fought the urge to shake his head. It was a challenge, he knew, that she’d done that. A way to gauge responses to things. Roman had done similar tests in the past, though not half naked.

“Morning you two,” said Roman. Mercury raised a hand in greeting. Emerald glanced in Roman’s direction, eyes narrowed, but said nothing. “You want anything to eat?”

Without a word, or a sound, Emerald was on her feet and heading toward the kitchen. Junior gestured to the pantry and she gave it a strong look before opening it to grab something.

“Quite the girlfriend,” said Roman, drily. Mercury looked from Roman to the kitchen, something soft in his eyes.

“Yeah,” he sighed, voice barely there. Then, with wide eyes and a panicked look, he said, “Wait, no, we’re not…”

Roman zipped his lips with a flourish. “Won’t say a word.”

Mercury flashed him a sheepish smile, ducking his head, and then got to his feet. Roman caught the slight wince as he stood, and the way his arm went around his chest, right near the bottom of the ribcage.

“You all right?” asked Roman.

Mercury nodded, sharp and a little frantic. “Fine,” he said, but his voice was tight even on the singular word. “Just uh, stiff.”

“We’ve got a shower,” said Roman. “And towels, if you want it.”

Mercury swallowed. “Might take you up on that,” he said. The tightness in his voice didn’t let up. “Later.”

“’Course,” said Roman. “No rush.” He turned away from Mercury to lean toward the kitchen, glancing in to see Emerald pouring a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and stuffing a piece of peanut butter toast into her mouth.

“Merc,” she called as she poured milk onto the cereal. He appeared next to Emerald, silent as she was, and took the bowl from her with a tiny smile.

“Thanks,” he said. Emerald grabbed her other piece of toast and followed him back into the living room. Roman watched them, leaning against the doorway into the kitchen with a slight frown on his face. Not a worried one, more pensive, curious, than anything else. He wondered if they had anywhere to go, or anything else to their names or if this was everything – just those singular outfits.

And that wasn’t even thinking about Mercury’s legs, which still weren’t in the best shape. They needed money, and time, to get back on their feet. And why had they been out in Vale anyway? What had happened with them?

As Roman watched them eat, more and more thoughts swirled around in his head. He watched the way Emerald nudged Mercury to get his attention, the way Mercury was bigger but fought to make himself smaller when they were sitting next to each other, the way Emerald could get close to Mercury and he didn’t so much as react, but when Neo passed by he went rigid.

Mostly, he watched the way Emerald remained completely alert, despite looking utterly bored.

God, she really was just a meaner, younger version of him, wasn’t she? But then, he’d been just like that at seventeen as well. Terrified and angry at the world, only to end up with a kid he should have never had. It was Neo that had softened him.

Maybe he could make sure these two didn’t go down a road he’d strayed so close to, before Neo.

“When we’re done, we can leave,” said Emerald. Her gaze was hard against Roman’s. “We won’t steal anything.”

“You don’t have to,” said Roman, before he could stop himself. “You could stay, for a little bit. Get back on your feet.”

Emerald’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” she asked. Mercury watched them both head tilting back and forth, with mild concern and passing interest. His gaze flicked over to Junior, who was standing on Roman’s right. Junior shrugged, his arms at his sides.

“You don’t really have anywhere else to go, do you?” asked Roman. “So stay here. You wanna pay your way, help out at a club or help me on a job. But you don’t have to.”

“We don’t need your charity,” said Emerald, tightly. She stood, hands fisted at her sides. Roman felt the beginnings of a headache form up in the back of his mind. He rubbed at his eyes. Damn it, that was the second one in two days.

“Stop that,” said Roman. “I can feel you doing it.”

Emerald’s hands loosened, her jaw working visibly. “We don’t need you.”

“Never said you did,” said Roman. He lowered his hand. “I’m not offering you charity because I feel sorry for you, kid, I’m offering because I know what it’s like to be there. To be a teenager with nothing but the clothes on your back and a target painted between your ribs. It’s not fun.”

“And if I made you and your boyfriend attack each other and took off with the good silverware?” asked Emerald.

From the dining table, Neo snorted and propped her legs up on the table. She winked at Emerald, one eye going pink, the other staying brown.

“What are you, anyway?” snapped Emerald.

“She’s my daughter, and she’s protective,” said Roman. He only hoped that a fight wouldn’t break out. As far as he knew, Neo wasn’t affected by a semblance like Emerald’s, but her own semblance left a lot to play with. Short term teleportation mixed with illusions could be dangerous at the best of times. Especially against a pair as skittish and exhausted as Emerald and Mercury.

He did not need them starting a war in the apartment.

“Look,” said Roman. He stepped forward and put himself between the glaring match between Emerald and Neo. “You don’t want my charity, I’m not gonna offer it. I just remember being where you two are now. I was in the same spot for a couple years myself. If it wasn’t for finding Neo, I never would have stayed who I was. Would have ended up a lot worse.”

He looked over Emerald’s head to Mercury, who watched them both from the couch. Emerald looked over her shoulder to him and grimaced, a flash of something tight and frustrated in her eyes.

“I don’t like being in debt to people,” she said.

“I get that,” said Roman. He stuffed his hands in his pyjama pants’ pockets and shrugged. “Listen, if you don’t want to stay, I can’t make you. But at least let me get you kids some money and some food before you take off. And if nothing else, can you tell me who’s after you? I could point ‘em in the wrong direction or, hell, even arrange for them to disappear.” He looked over at Junior. “Not the first time we’ve had to do something like that. Last guy ended up in Vacuo.”

Emerald frowned and leaned against the wall next to her, arms folded tightly across her chest. Behind her, Mercury rubbed at his ribs again, grimacing. Roman wondered if the guy had bruised them.

“You sure you wanna know?” asked Emerald.

Roman nodded.

Emerald sighed and looked at Mercury again, who stepped up next to her. “Adam Taurus,” she said.

The words hung between them for a moment. Behind Roman there was a soft ‘oh’. He looked over his shoulder to see the twins, who inched themselves toward Neo. Both stared with wide eyes at the display before them.

“Funny thing, he’s after me too,” said Roman, voice slow and measured.

“Why?” asked Emerald, narrowing her eyes.

“I did a job for him I shouldn’t have. I think he wants me to do another,” said Roman. He stuffed his hands in his pyjama pants’ pockets. Tried not to give away much else.

Emerald and Mercury looked at each other. “That,” said Emerald, slowly, “is almost exactly what happened to us.”

Roman clicked his tongue, thinking for a moment. “Listen,” he said. “Seeing as we’re in the same boat, I’ve got a proposition for you. I know you don’t want charity, but what about a partnership? We both have Taurus at our backs, why not team up to take him down? Once he’s out of our hair, you leave, we go our separate ways, and no one ever has to see each other again.” He raised an eyebrow. “Sound like a deal?”

Emerald and Mercury at one another again. There was a long moment where they had a silent conversation. “Yeah,” said Emerald. “I think you’ve got yourself a deal, Torchwick.”

Roman stuck out his hand to her and Emerald shook it hard. It wasn’t exactly the way Roman had planned on getting the two to stay, but it worked. And, as he, the girls, Emerald, Mercury, and Junior all took varying spots at the dining table and in the living room to hash together everything they knew Taurus, Roman couldn’t help but be a little bit worried. It was one thing to drag Junior into his mess, but to drag all the kids into it? Especially two kids he barely knew? That was something else entirely, and it worried Roman.

But there wasn’t much else he could do. He had to solve this, and soon, before Taurus made a proper attack on Junior and the twins. It was one thing for Roman to put himself in danger, but he couldn’t put his family at risk anymore.

And that was the thought that kept him going as they plotted how to take down Adam Taurus. That no matter what they did to Taurus, he’d deserve it, and it’d be worth it, if it meant keeping his family safe.

Roman only hoped he wouldn’t have to give up the rest of his morals to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	12. A Question of Identity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More talks, more plot, more everything as we head into the second half of A Place to Hang Your Hat.

Roman and Neo searched the streets for Taurus for most of the week. They checked clubs and warehouses, back streets and alleyways, and contacted every person they knew who had some connection to Vale’s underground. But it was no use. Taurus had gone dark. While White Fang activity had continued, it was lesser than it had been in months, and Roman and Neo met dead end after dead end as they tried to find answers to what had happened to Adam Taurus and his band of miscreants and ne’er-do-wells.

As they returned to the club at the end of the week, both dejected and exhausted, Roman couldn’t help but wonder how it had gone this far. Had he really been so hard up for money that he’d taken a job from the White Fang? The question, of course, was no. It had been the challenge. The adventure. The thrill of the chase. If he, Roman Torchwick, could rob a dust shop in the middle of a city and not get arrested for it, then he could do anything.

And that line of thinking was precisely what had gotten him into this mess. For Roman, it was never the payoff, but the build-up. The challenge and the precision. Every moving piece and every bit of pressure, churning upward and upward until only he could stand his ground to it, long after others had given up.

The thrill, the adrenaline, the _hunger,_ and the high. That was what Roman rode into every plan.

That was what had brought him into the criminal business, despite knowing he had a voice and a body for anything else. Make-up artistry, dancing, waiting tables. He could have done it all. But it had never been about making steady money, or even doing something he wanted to do for the rest of his life. It had been about doing something he was good at, that no one else could do quite like him. And if he enjoyed it, to some extent at least, then why ever bother to stop?

Roman sighed as he and Neo stepped into the club. God, what a mess he’d gotten his family in to. And before, when it was just him and Neo, he could have made this work. But now he had the twins and Junior to worry about. Not to mention whatever was going on with Emerald and Mercury.

Neo tapped Roman’s shoulder and Roman looked down to her.

_“You okay?”_ signed Neo. She cocked her head to one side and pursed her lips.

Roman shrugged. “I’ll be fine, kiddo. Just thinking.”

Neo raised an eyebrow in question.

“Life choices,” said Roman. He lifted his gaze and saw Junior at the bar. When Junior spotted him, he smiled warmly, his entire face lighting up. Roman smiled back, his chest tight and warm all at once. “And if maybe I should change some of them.” His words were soft as he spoke.

Neo looked from Junior to Roman and lifted her fingers. _“Whatever you decide, I’m with you all the way, Dad.”_ She flashed him a smile and gave him a double thumbs-up.

“Thanks, kiddo.” Roman ruffled her hair and headed up to the bar counter where, for the first time, he noticed some faunus kid sitting there. Roman shrugged. Kid was too young to be there, but he seemed pretty blue, just like the last kid that had walked in here.

“Hey, baby bear,” said Roman. He leaned across the counter, grinning, and planted his hands to hoist himself up high enough to peck Junior on the lips. “How’s business treating you?”

“Good, Ro’,” said Junior, a twinge of amusement in his voice. “Sort everything out?”

“Nah,” said Roman. He flopped down on one of the stools, propping his elbows on the counter and his head in his hands. “No leads yet.”

Junior patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll get there. It just takes time.”

Roman sighed. “I know, I know. But I’ve never been a terribly patient man, Junior.”

“Really?” Junior’s voice was fond. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Roman stabbed a finger at him. “Don’t you patronize baby bear; I wrote the book on sarcasm.” His eyes were twinkling as he spoke, lips pulled into a half grin.

Junior hummed. “Sure,” he said. “I’ve got drinks to make and bottles to sort. See you in a bit?”

Roman nodded and watched him go, his eyes trailing appreciatively down to Junior’s ass as he disappeared. He hummed, biting at his lower lip. The man really did fill out his pants wonderfully.

“Um…”

Roman turned and cocked an eyebrow at the blond faunus kid who’d spoken. His monkey tail swished above one of his shoulders, twitching almost nervously.

“Yeah?” asked Roman, raising an eyebrow. He reached up and tilted his hat back to study the kid better. “You need something?”

The kid looked from him to the where Junior had disappeared and back again. Roman knew the look in his eyes too well. Fear, confusion. Want. Not for him and Junior, but for something else entirely.

“How can you be so… confident?” asked the kid. “About stuff like that?”

“Stuff like that?” echoed Roman. “You mean my relationship? My boyfriend?” The word was still a little awkward in his mouth. Not often spoken out loud, but proud to be there nonetheless.

“Yes,” said the kid. There was a desperate tinge to his voice and a fever in his eyes that made Roman feel for him. He remembered being a teenager. Having no idea who he was or what he wanted. Being terrified to try and figure it out. Knowing that if he did, he’d never be able to go back to willful ignorance.

“What’s your name?” asked Roman.

“Sun,” said the kid.

“Well, Sun,” said Roman. “Why don’t you tell me what’s bugging you, and I’ll see if I’ve got some advice for you.” He raised an eyebrow, turned on his stool to leaned against the bar, and offered him a little smile. “Good?”

Sun bit the inside of his cheek, his tail swinging around him. “Sure,” he said, though his voice was slow and hesitant. He took a deep breath, letting it out shakily. “So, there’s a guy.”

Roman nodded, crossing one leg over the other and clasping his hands over one knee.

“And um, I think I might like him?” Sun rubbed the back of his neck. His tail wrapped around his bicep. “But I don’t know. We’ve been friends forever and he’s my partner at school and I don’t want to ruin things, you know?”

Roman nodded again. “I understand completely, kid.” He clicked his tongue. “Tell me about him.”

Sun blinked. “Uh, sure. He’s uh. His name’s Neptune and he’s such a dork. He tries to be cool but I see him when he’s not and he’s just a huge geek.” Sun’s hands moved as he spoke, his eyes lighting up with each word. “He likes reading and board games and he knows all these ridiculous facts – like today, he told me that Nevermore feathers are stripped down and used to make scarecrows out in villages because the smell scares away other Grimm!” He grinned at Roman, eyes alight. “Can you believe that?”

Roman shook his head, lips twisting into an amused smile. “I didn’t know that.”

“Neither did I!” Sun threw his hands into the air. His tail swung freely behind him. “And like, he’s always telling me stuff like that and helping me with classes. And he’s always so nice to me. And I know he tries so hard to be cool, but man, he’s so much cooler when he doesn’t try, you know?” Sun cocked his head to one side. “And he’s funny and he’s super sweet and he’s always trying to help everyone.” He sighed. “And he’s got this laugh that could light up your whole day and his eyes are so _blue_ and he’s just…” Sun trailed off, his eyes soft and a gentle smile on his face. “He’s amazing.”

Roman smiled, tilting his head slightly. “You wanna know what I think?”

“Yeah,” said Sun. He straightened up. “What do you think?”

“I think you sound positively _smitten_.” Roman spread his hands. “It’s just a matter of what you want to do, kid.”

Sun shook his head and tugged his fingers hard through his hair. “You don’t get it though; he doesn’t like dudes. I’m not supposed to like dudes!” He threw his hands into the air. “I don’t even know how this happened!”

“I get that, I really do,” said Roman. He leaned forward, hesitantly, and rested a hand on Sun’s knee. “Look, I can’t tell you how to feel or what to do about the guy, but I can tell you one thing.”

“What’s that?” asked Sun. He stared at Roman, eyes so wide and hopeful that Roman wanted nothing more than to tell him that everything’d be all right. That nothing had to change and his whole world wasn’t about to be flipped based on his perception of himself.

But that wasn’t true.

“You don’t have to tell him. You don’t have to tell anyone. But accepting this? Accepting that you have feelings for a guy? That’s important.” Roman took a deep breath. He stabbed a finger at Sun. “Hating something about yourself that you can’t change isn’t going to get you anywhere. So maybe this whole thing doesn’t work out. But just.” He sighed. “Promise me you won’t hate yourself for something you can’t change.”

Sun frowned at him, soft and thoughtful. “Why do I feel like you’ve got a personal stake in that bit?”

Roman flashed him a smile that was half exhausted and half trapped in memory. “I do,” said Roman. He leaned back and gestured to himself. “Trust me, kid, I wasn’t always this fabulous.”

Sun chuckled. “I have a hard time believing that.”

“Most people do,” said Roman. He leaned forward again, bracing his arms on his knees. “Look,” his hat slid back over his bangs, “it’s your choice whether or not you’re gonna tell the guy. In my experience, telling your friend how you feel works out pretty well.” He shrugged lightly. “But that’s your call.”

Sun nodded. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.” He chewed on his lower lip for a moment, tail curling around his bicep again. “Hey, uh, who are you anyway?”

Roman winked. “Name’s Roman, kiddo. At your service.”

Sun laughed and hopped off the stool. “Well, thanks Roman. This has been… really educational.” He held out his hand and Roman hopped off the stool to shake it. “See you around?”

“You bet,” said Roman. He reached up and tapped his hat. “And lemme know how your thing with Neptune goes.”

“Sure thing,” said Sun. He lifted one hand in goodbye and darted through the crowds, heading toward the door.

Roman barely had time to lower his own hand before he heard Junior calling him. He turned to see Junior and Tukson standing at the door to the back room, with Neo standing on Junior’s other side.

_“Come here,”_ signed Neo. Roman nodded and headed over to the trio, tapping his hat again.

“What’s up?” he asked. He looked between the three. It had been weeks since he’d seen Tukson. With how heavy White Fang activity was, he’d figured it was too dangerous to hang around with him. Especially with the White Fang apparently tracking him. He didn’t need them finding Tukson.

“We’ve got a lead on where the White Fang might be,” said Junior. One of his hands slipped around Roman’s waist, lingering with the barest of touches. “Tukson brought it to us.”

Roman narrowed his eyes. “Tell me you’re not doing what I think you’re doing.”

“You two saved me once,” said Tukson. He looked up at Junior, then down at Neo. Roman caught the way Tukson’s gaze lingered on Junior’s hand around Roman’s waist. He almost felt bad, all things considered. Not because Tukson didn’t approve of them, but for another reason entirely. A reason he hadn’t thought about for almost five years. “It’s only fair that I do the same, don’t you think?”

“Tukson.” Roman’s voice was hard. He narrowed his eyes and flipped his bangs away from them.

“I still have some of my old contacts. They don’t know I left. So I asked around, got some intel.” Tukson stuffed his hands in his pockets. “They’re hiding out in the docks, in the old grain import warehouse.” Roman knew the warehouse well. He’d always thought it was a little too unstable to hold any kind of base there.

How in the hell was the White Fang maintaining that?

“Let me help,” said Tukson. “I know their tactics; I know their moves. I know I can keep you guys out of trouble.”

Neo shook her head vigorously, hair waving back and forth with her hands.

“Look, Neo, I know you don’t want me to get hurt,” said Tukson. “But I need to help.” His gaze went to Roman. “Your dad and I are good friends.” Roman pressed his lips together, his chest tight. “He saved me, now it’s my turn to return the favour.”

Roman shook his head. “You kept Neo safe, that’s payment enough by far.”

“Then let me help for revenge,” pressed Tukson, a touch of desperation to his voice. He pulled his hands from his pockets and clenched them tightly. Roman saw the slight extend to his fingernails. The flash in his eyes and the work in his jaw that meant he’d dropped his fangs. Not in aggression, but in memory. In fear.

Roman looked to Junior, who gave a slight tilt to his head. The message was clear. This was his call.

“Neo?” asked Roman.

Neo looked from Tukson to Roman, working her jaw visibly. After a long pause, she sighed, shoulders slumping, and nodded once.

“All right,” said Roman. “Tell us everything you know. You’re in.”

Tukson nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “I won’t let you down.”

After knowing the guy long enough to watch him babysit Neo a hundred times, Roman had no doubt about that. Tukson was reliable, strong, and an incredible friend. Neo wouldn’t be half as well adjusted as she was without Tukson homeschooling her.

But still, he worried. If not for Tukson and his mental health – which was a massive concern – then for the White Fang, and just what Tukson would do when he got his hands on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	13. Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bird comes to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Roman, you are in so much trouble.

Roman leaned back in the booth in the club, stretching high and letting out a low, mildly obscene noise as his back popped. He rolled his neck before leaning around the booth to check on Junior, who was serving drinks to a positively gorgeous guy with red eyes. ‘Course, Roman only had eyes for Junior, but he could appreciate a nice ass as much as the next guy.

And the mystery man doing shots like it was his life’s ambition certainly had a nice one.

Roman shook his head and turned his attention back to his scroll on the booth’s table. He had screens scattered across the smooth surface, the soft blue glow illuminating him better than the dance floor’s lights. All around him, the screens showed off police reports, maps of the warehouse blocks, and mug shots of various White Fang members that were currently known.

He rubbed his face. A soft sighed slipped from his lips. The plan was to shut down Taurus for good – to drive him out of Vale so that he, his family, Emerald and Mercury, and Tukson could be safe here. Roman didn’t _want_ to run, like he had in the past. He and Neo liked it here. They had a family here, a life here, and he couldn’t just leave Junior behind.

If he ran, he’d lose everything, and he’d leave his friends – his family – in a lot of danger. No, running wasn’t an option, and Roman didn’t want to run anyways.

“There’s gotta be a way to track you,” muttered Roman, rubbing his chin. It wasn’t like he could smooth talk his way into a White Fang meeting. He might have been able to, once, but now his face was known to them and Taurus was after him. Too bad, it would have been more his level of comfort and expertise than anything else he could come up with.

Roman sighed and slumped in the seat, staring up at the ceiling with his arms limp at his sides. After a moment, he groaned and planted his hands on his face, dragging them down slowly.

“Are you okay?” Roman tilted his head to look at Mercury, who had an arm wrapped around his ribs as he watched Roman. He stood next to the booth, eyebrows raised in question.

Roman gestured for him to sit down and Mercury did so slowly. Roman caught the wince as he brushed the table. The kid was obviously injured, but Roman had no idea how to get him to talk to them. He didn’t trust them. Frankly, Roman didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t have trusted him and Junior in this situation either.

“Working on plans,” said Roman. “Tukson knows where they are, and he’s making his rounds, but a lot of it comes down to just how we wanna do this.” Roman gave a sweeping hand gesture across the holoscreens scattered across the table. “As you can see, I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

“Yeah,” said Mercury. He reached out with his free arm and tapped one of the screens, spinning it around to look at. “You guys sure it’s these warehouses?”

Roman nodded. “Hey, if Tukson says they’re in the grain warehouse, they’re in the grain warehouse.”

Mercury frowned.

Roman gave him a flat look. “I trust him with my life, kid.”

Mercury blinked, seemingly taken aback for a moment. His mouth opened and closed a few times. Roman imagined he was trying to figure out what to say in response to that.

After a moment, he got his answer.

“Why?” asked Mercury.

Roman spun one of the screens on the table around and tapped it, bringing him back to the main screen. He switched through the folders for a moment before coming to the one he was thinking of. Then, he spun it back around and slid it toward Mercury. Mercury tapped the screen to expand out the pictures on it, scattering three holographic pictures across the table.

The first was a picture of Neo, around age eight, sitting perched on Tukson’s shoulders. Both of her eyes were brown and she had a bright smile on her face. Tukson had been caught mid-laugh, looking up at Neo like she was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.

The second was a picture of Tukson, holding a pan full of cookies and looking at Neo, who was dangling upside down from a ceiling fan in Tukson’s apartment.

The last picture was one Roman was fond of, despite the messy history surrounding it. It was a picture of Neo, around age ten, flashing peace signs at the camera. Behind her was Tukson, who had his arms wrapped around Roman’s waist and was leaning in to kiss Roman’s cheek. Roman was mid-laugh in this one, grinning at Tukson as he tried to shove him away with one hand.

“You two dated?” asked Mercury.

Roman nodded. It wasn’t something he thought about often, as the break-up had been pretty messy, but these days he and Tukson were good friends. Hell, Tukson had even helped him seduce Junior. Which was a little odd, all things considered, but Roman wasn’t about to question it.

“For about a year,” said Roman. These days, Tukson was still family, and Roman wouldn’t label what part. He wasn’t sure what the hell Tukson was him to these days. Not a friend, but not a brother either.

“You know,” said Mercury, drily. He looked up at Roman through his bangs, a twinge of amusement in his voice. His gaze went over to Junior at the bar, then to the picture of Tukson, then to Roman again, “you kind of have a type.”

Roman nodded, rubbing his face with one hand. “I know,” he said, words half a groan. “God, I _know_.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Hey, it’s worked out.”

“So, uh,” said Mercury. “Does he know? The big guy?” He nodded toward the bar.

Roman shook his head. “No. I don’t think he’d take it _badly_ , per se, it just hasn’t come up.” He eyed Mercury, dragging his mind back to the present. “And _you_ are changing the subject.”

“What was the subject?” asked Mercury. He still had one arm wrapped around the bottom of his ribs, though it was mostly hidden by the booth’s table.

“You, my sarcastic friend, are in serious pain,” said Roman. He propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin on the back of his hands. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“You know, we weren’t _actually_ talking about that,” said Mercury. He went to slide out of the booth, but Roman raised one leg and caught him on the leg, holding him in place. He gave Mercury a flat look and Mercury flushed. “Do we have to?” he mumbled.

Roman nodded. “Kid, if you’re hurting, I want to help.” He gave Mercury a once over, frowning when Mercury curled in on himself, scooting against the wall of the booth to pull his legs up to his chest.

“It’s... not something you can help with,” said Mercury, softly. “I just need to heal.”

“You’ve been here a week and you’re still not healing. Something’s wrong, let me help.” He leaned forward, brow furrowed. “Is your aura not doing too hot? We can get you meds. It’s not a big deal.”

Something flashed in Mercury’s eyes, hope or something similar. But it was gone as quick as it came, replaced with the same standoffish and worried look that he’d held since Roman had first met him.

“It’s...” Mercury pressed himself further into the corner of the booth, as far away from Roman as he could get. “It’s nothing.”

Roman sighed. He wasn’t getting anywhere. For all his posturing, the kid was terrified of him. Roman wasn’t exactly sure why, to be honest. He wasn’t a terrifying guy. Yeah, he may have been bigger than Mercury, but he suspected a lot of that was just because Mercury was malnourished. Maybe it was his height. For a guy built like him, Roman was tall. Taller than Mercury; taller than Emerald. It stood to reason they’d view him as a threat, especially once they saw how Junior was about him. …Yeah, okay, maybe he did know exactly why they were scared of him.

“All right,” said Roman. “But if you need anything – and I do mean anything – you come talk to us, okay?” He gave Mercury a hard look and Mercury nodded. “Don’t destroy yourself when we’re trying to help you stay safe, kid. It’s impolite.” He stabbed a finger at Mercury.

“Okay,” said Mercury, sounding somewhere between amused and worried.

With a nod, Roman slid out of the booth and headed toward the bar, where Junior was wiping down glasses.

The guy with red eyes studied Roman over his drink as Roman slid up to the bar. He resisted the urge to lean over and bat his eyelashes at Junior. Something about the guy’s red gaze had him on edge. It seemed to dig under his skin and rip him open, leaving every detail of his mind exposed.

“New here?” asked Roman. He signaled Junior for a drink, who nodded, and Roman could see the worry and confusion that clouded Junior’s eyes. Something was up with this red guy. Roman wanted to find out what before it bit them in the ass.

“Just to the club,” said the guy. He swirled the drink around and around in his glass, his voice a rasp in the cool air of the club.

Roman nodded. He liked to think he knew all the shady characters in Vale, but it seemed this one had escaped him.

The guy tipped his head to one side and watched Mercury slink out of the club and up the stairs to the apartment. He raised one eyebrow, lips slightly pursed. “Seems like he’s a little young to be in here.”

“Only if he orders a drink,” said Roman, smoothly.

Junior set down the tequila and disappeared again, flashing one last worried look in Roman’s direction. The big guy was hardly a charmer when it came to stuff like this. He was better at physical intimidation than Roman’s brand of information gathering. Still, Roman knew why he was nervous.

Roman could fight, but he was no huntsman, and the big sword on the guy’s back was mark enough to what he was, even if he didn’t hold himself like one. And Roman knew those joints. That was a folded scythe, not just a sword.

Scythe users were unstable at the best of times, and capable of things far worse than Roman, besides.

“So,” said Roman. He slid onto one of the bar stools and crossed one leg over the other, one elbow propped on the bar counter. “What brings you here?”

The man eyed him over his glass and tipped it back, downing the rest in one motion. Roman wasn’t sure what it was, but, by the smell, it was probably straight.

“Just got back from a mission,” drawled the man. His raspy voice was low, not much above a whisper, and Roman shifted uncomfortably. Despite how downright _weird_ this guy was, he had a very attractive voice. It wasn’t fair. Especially not because Roman wasn’t supposed to get distracted before he could information out of the guy.

“Yeah? Grimm?” asked Roman.

The man raised an eyebrow, looked Roman up and down, and shrugged, almost to himself. “Yeah, sure. Listen, uh…”

“Roman, at your service,” said Roman, tipping his hat.

The man’s other eyebrow shot up, illuminating his steely red eyes. “Right,” he said, drawing out the vowel. “Qrow.”

There was no way his name was actually Qrow. It had to be fake.

“Not that I’m not flattered or anything, but, uh, you’re not really my type,” said Qrow.

Roman jumped back a bit. Shit, had he really been coming on that strongly? “I wasn’t. I mean I didn’t…” Roman sighed and flipped his bangs out of his eyes. “All right, all right, so you caught me.” He gave a dramatic shrug. “What can I say? I am a man of many talents and flirting is one of them.”

“Mm-hm,” said Qrow, a twinkle in his eye. “So, what were you trying to do then?”

Roman blinked. “I got a better idea, sweetheart.” He leaned forward, propping one arm on his folded leg. “How about you tell me what your type _actually_ is, and I’ll tell you what I want.”

Qrow raised an eyebrow, leaned around Roman, and looked pointedly at Junior. Then, he looked back at Roman, giving him a flat look.

Roman chuckled. “Yeah,” he said, quietly. “I can understand that.” He turned his attention back to Qrow. “So, what I _want_ , oh mysterious stranger,” Qrow snorted, “is for you to tell me why you’ve decided to make it your business to visit this little club.”

Leaning against the counter, Qrow gave a sigh. Roman couldn’t tell if it was a dramatic one or not, but he figured it was at least partially for theatrics.

“I’m looking for information, heard this was a good place to get it,” said Qrow. His gaze slid across the bar, his eyes narrowed. “Can’t say I know who I’m looking for, though.” He looked at Roman again, one eyebrow raised. “Do you?”

_Junior._ It was simple enough, really. When people wanted information, they came looking for Junior. Even if Junior didn’t always have answers, he was typically pretty good at finding it out before people got upset. Sure, he was a genuine businessman, but he had his moments, and the information business paid well.

But there was something about this guy that had Roman hesitating to tell him he was looking for Junior. Junior was in enough trouble because of Roman as it was, Roman didn’t need to be sending creepy guys with creepier eyes after him. Especially not ones that looked like they could tear either of them apart with that sword-scythe of his.

“I’ll take that as a no,” said Qrow. He pushed back from the counter and sighed. “Guess it was too much to ask for.” His gaze swept across Roman, one eyebrow cocked. “I swear I know you.”

Roman shook his head, playing the part of the clueless patron. “Can’t say I know you.” Unless he’d had a run in with someone Qrow knew, there was no way the guy would possibly pin him. He had to be safe. “I might just have one of those faces, you know?”

Qrow cocked an eyebrow. “Right,” he said, drawing out the vowel. He stood. “I’m sure. Well, if you see who I’m looking for, Roman, let him know.” He gave Roman a significant look. “And tell him I’ll be back.”

Roman nodded. “Sure thing.”

Turning, Qrow left the club, raising one hand in goodbye. Once he was gone, Roman ducked toward the back room and caught Junior on his way out of it.

“We have a problem,” he hissed.

Junior’s eyebrows shot up. He glanced toward where Qrow had been before. “Mystery guy?”

“His name is Qrow and he’s looking for _information_ ,” said Roman. He gave Junior a significant look.

Junior swallowed visibly. “You think he’s White Fang? A name like that could mean faunus.”

“I didn’t see any traits,” murmured Roman. He shook his head and glanced back toward the bar, the after image of Qrow still burnt into his mind. There was something positively _off_ about him. He was sniffing around, which never ended well for Roman or Junior.

“Could still have them,” said Junior.

Roman nodded. “I’ll call Tukson, see if he knows anything. We might have to move up our plan.” He glanced up at Junior, resting one hand on his chest. “You good with that?”

“Yeah,” said Junior. He caught Roman’s hand in his own and laced their fingers together. “We can handle this.”

Roman took one last glance toward the bar and nodded. “Yeah, sure we can,” he said. But he wasn’t sure.

Hell, he wasn’t sure about much anymore, and this just threw a whole new set of complications into an already terrifying and dangerous plan.

Roman only hoped that Tukson had answers, because it looked like they were going to be changing the plan again, this time with a time limit.

Just what he needed: more stress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	14. Search and Destroy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh. Huuuuuh. Yeaaaah.
> 
> Please don't shoot me.

This was a bad idea; a very, very bad idea. It wasn’t just that Roman had decided to scout out the warehouse when he knew the White Fang only had a skeleton patrol in the area. And it wasn’t just that he decided to do it at night, despite knowing Faunus had night vision. And it wasn’t just that he’d left Neo at home because it was safer for her there. No, it was because, in his infinite wisdom, he’d allowed Tukson to come with him.

Tukson, who was emotionally compromised. Tukson, who was already on edge. Tukson, who’d been acting a little odd around Roman since he’d gotten with Junior.

Roman really, really hoped that it wasn’t for the reason he suspected it was. Partially because he’d hoped the drama about their past relationship was over and partially because he was so very tired of drama. Even he could get sick of dramatics, as hard as it was to believe.

Sliding into the shadows around the warehouse, Roman glanced to the right, where Tukson was leaning against the old sideboards as well. They were both dressed down for the occasion – black turtlenecks and black pants, with Roman’s usual flair missing as he switched out his hat for a black beanie to hide his vibrant hair.

Roman hated dressing like this. He may have been a criminal, but he was the performing kind, not the skulking around kind. This just felt _wrong._ This felt… well, it felt like crime, as opposed to performing.

Roman didn’t like it.

“You ready?” asked Tukson. Break, enter, search, destroy. Four steps. Simple. Rhythmic. Almost musical. Roman could do it.

He nodded. Tukson tilted his head up toward the window, and Roman took it as his cue to be lifted toward it. He let Tukson lift him up to the window, pulling himself up onto the sill before sliding the window open and wriggling in. On the other side of the window was a catwalk, and Roman dropped almost soundlessly onto the metal grates.

Sometimes, he was grateful he was so lean. It made things like this much easier.

Roman leaned back out the window to check on Tukson, only to see him clambering up to the sill with ease. Roman let out a tiny squeak when Tukson appeared over the sill suddenly, then Roman pulled himself back inside to let Tukson in.

He landed, if it was possible, even more silently than Roman did, not even stirring the air around his feet. Roman was reminded of their team-ups back when they first pulled Tukson out of the White Fang, back when Neo was a kid. How they’d sabotaged the White Fang over and over until they’d finally let up on Tukson because they had better things to be doing – like handling the mysterious sabotages.

Even if they had, equally mysteriously, completely disappeared about two weeks after they’d stopped looking for Tukson. At least they’d never tracked him to Vale. Thankfully.

“Find their databanks,” said Tukson, his voice a low and familiar rumble next to Roman’s ear. Roman swallowed and nodded, following Tukson across the catwalk and toward the stairs. Tukson leaped off before he reached the stairs, leaving Roman struggling to keep up while still being silent.

He followed Tukson to the main section of the warehouse, grateful for the intel that it was empty tonight, before he split off to look for their computers. Generally, he was a bit better at working them than Tukson was. Not that they expected to find much beyond a couple of old, hacked Scrolls.

God, this was like getting Tukson out of the White Fang all over again. Leaving Neo with Gran from upstairs so he and Tukson could go keep each other safe.

It was like a lot of other things too. Things that made the back of Roman’s neck heat and his stomach clench. Familiarity was a traitor.

A year of history was a hard thing to burn out of your muscle memory.

“Roman?” The low rumble of Tukson’s voice sent shivers up Roman’s spine. He bit the inside of his cheek and reminded himself, not for the first time, that he and Tukson were friends. Roman didn’t have any latent feelings for Tukson, he knew he didn’t. But talking about him with Mercury, then being forced into close proximity with Tukson… it was the past rearing its ugly head, driving him down memory lane until nothing else could focus.

“Yeah?” asked Roman, over his shoulder, well aware of the hesitation in his voice.

Tukson was holding up one of the masks, frowning at it. “Do you remember, before this all turned to… well, this?” He gestured to the warehouse, his eyes faraway. Roman could barely make out his expression, but Tukson’s eyes had always had a certain glow about them. Literally, actually.

“I do,” said Roman. He crossed the warehouse to Tukson and stopped a few feet from him, looking up the slight height difference. “I’m glad we got you out when we did.”

Tukson smiled, the gesture light and warm all at once. “Me too.”

There was a long moment of silence, where neither one of them moved. Then, Roman sucked in a breath as Tukson stepped forward.

“Thank you,” whispered Tukson, ducking his head. Then, both with and without warning, Tukson closed the distance between them and kissed Roman.

It was warm in its familiarity, pleasant but without passion, without thrill. Roman brought one hand up and rested it on Tukson’s chest, memories surging forward and pressing him back into Tukson. He held the kiss for only a few seconds before his mind caught up and he realized what he was doing. Then he stepped back, eyes going wide, even as his body reminded him why he used to enjoy this and that, despite everything, the attraction was still there.

Faint, but still there.

“We can’t do this,” said Roman, but his words were faint. Memories swirled around them in the darkness of the warehouse, playing out the first few months of their relationship in the shadows. The present was forgotten, the past remembered, and Roman found himself drawn to Tukson despite his mind telling him that Junior was his now, that he was Junior’s, and that this – whatever it was – could not, should not, _would_ not happen.

Tukson stared at Roman. “Don’t you want to?” he whispered.

Roman swallowed. He couldn’t answer that. He didn’t know.

They needed to focus. This was a bad idea. But god if Roman wasn’t falling back five, six years ago, and god if he wasn’t tempted to keep falling. Things were simpler, back then, when he was helping a man run from the White Fang while he fell in love.

_Love._

But he loved Junior now. Junior was his one and only. Junior was his boyfriend.

Junior was everything to him and Roman couldn’t – wouldn’t – betray him this way.

“No,” said Roman. “It’d be easier, to try and rewind time, but we can’t.” He stepped away from Tukson, breaths shuddering as they slipped from his lips. “I have Junior. You have your shop. What we were is done. Drop it, T.”

Tukson nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. I just…”

“I know,” said Roman. “I know.” And he did. Fear did a lot of things to a man, and sending him back in time to when things were simpler was the least it could do. Roman knew he’d done it half a dozen times when he’d been on the run with Neo. Some things were simpler when you didn’t have to deal with the present.

“We should find their maps,” mumbled Tukson, walking away from Roman. Roman relaxed once Tukson was out of reach, frustrated with the awkwardness but glad for the freedom from the heated tension.

Roman started circling the warehouse again, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for anything that could possibly work to their advantage – or for returning members of the White Fang. That was a good idea too. Especially seeing as Tukson seemed to be pretty damn distracted after that kiss.

It took a little while, but Roman eventually made his way to the back corner, where maps were spread out on tables and pinned to the two walls nearest the tables. He hesitated at the threshold of the map area, taking a deep breath. Some irrational part of him said that if he crossed into this area, Taurus would know he’d been here. He’d be able to sniff out Roman and his family and come knocking at his door.

It was a damn miracle Taurus didn’t know about the club.

But Roman knew he was being ridiculous. He knew faunus weren’t that different from humans. Knew they couldn’t sniff out people like bloodhounds. He knew Tukson and a ton of other faunus that weren’t evil terrorists. It was just fear making him irrational.

Taking a deep breath, Roman stepped over the threshold and walked up to the maps. He flipped the edge of one map up to look at it better, then dug out a flashlight to look at it all more closely. The maps were marked with pins and drawn on with markers, laying out half a dozen plans in varying colours.

Roman couldn’t make out most of the finer details, but he could make out enough to realize that Taurus had some bold moves planned for the future of the White Fang. Raids, takedowns, even an attack on the police in one of the other towns in Vale. Roman swallowed as he turned and spotted the biggest map behind him, pinned to the wall.

That one was easy enough to make out. It was a raid on Beacon Academy. All hands on deck. It looked like everything else Taurus was doing – the Dust stealing, the other raids, even the attacks on the police – all led back to trying to attack Beacon Academy and win.

_Shit._

Roman reached out and pulled a picture off the map. The girl had a large red circle drawn around her, and a bunch of marks drawn to her from the rest of the plan. Roman would have to make sure to put her picture back where it belonged.

“Roman?” Tukson’s call echoed through the empty warehouse, leaving Roman looking over his shoulder to find Tukson. “You okay?”

Roman held out the picture of the girl to Tukson as he approached. He took it, taking in her golden eyes and black hair, as well as the tiny cat ears that perched on her head. Roman thought he almost recognized her, from years ago. She looked young though, sixteen or seventeen at most.

“You know her?” asked Roman, wracking his mind.

Tukson growled, claws and fangs dropping as his eyes flashed in the darkness. Roman snatched the picture back before Tukson could damage it and settled it back where it belonged on the map. He double checked that it was in the right place before turning back to Tukson.

“I thought she got out,” said Tukson. He leaned against the table, putting his head in his hands. “I thought… _fuck._ ”

Roman reached out and rested hand on Tukson’s shoulder, frowning. “Who is she? What’s going on?”

“Her name is Blake she…” Tukson shook his head. “Fuck, Roman, she was basically my little sister. I helped train her, raise her, and I… I walked without her.”

And now Roman remembered. The little girl that he and Tukson tried to get out of the White Fang, but she’d disappeared in the midst of their raids. They’d assumed – wrongfully, apparently – that he’d gotten free. By the looks of things, she’d gotten far, far too deep into all this.

“If they’re going after her like this, she had to be Adam’s protégée, his perfect warrior.” Tukson made a face, looking sick. “His prize.”

Roman’s stomach dropped. Oh _fuck_ , how sick was Taurus? She was just a kid.

Why hadn’t they tried harder to save her?

“We’ll fix this,” said Roman, tightly. He pulled out his Scroll and started snapping pictures of all the maps, being sure to get as many angles as he could. This changed everything. If Taurus thought he could take on Beacon Academy, then he was a lot more powerful than Roman thought. He and the others were going to need more help, more manpower. But he couldn’t just stroll into Beacon Academy and tell them what was going on.

No one would believe him and he’d go to jail.

“We’ll stop him. We’ll save her. I promise,” said Roman. He squeezed Tukson’s shoulder. “I promise.”

Tukson nodded, looking a little grim. “Okay,” he said, voice hoarse.

“Now, let’s get out of here,” murmured Roman. He and Tukson turned and slipped out of the warehouse, leaving not a trace of themselves behind. As they scurried back to the club, Roman’s mind turned over and over, trying to understand what to do next. He needed another plan and he needed one fast.

Maybe Junior would have an idea. Roman hoped he would.

He had no idea what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	15. Truth or Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roman fucked up, y'all.
> 
> It's good to be back.

Roman wasn’t sure how to bring up the whole ‘kissed Tukson’ thing with Junior after everything at the warehouse went down. So, instead, he focused his energy on looking over the information he’d gotten out of the warehouse. The maps were the most interesting, but there had been a couple other things that Roman had managed to grab as well. Pictures of White Fang members, or ex-members, as it were, that Taurus was looking for. Numbers on Dust shipments that the White Fang was tracking. A ton of stuff related to Beacon Academy.

That part was the most worrying. Roman wasn’t sure how to handle the whole ‘Taurus wanted to bust into Beacon Academy’ thing. With the maps and the other intel, he was slowly piecing together how exactly Taurus was planning on doing that. Apparently, it involved a couple of White Fang members being placed into the school as exchange students for scouts. The thought made Roman sick to his stomach. If they were young enough to pass for young exchange students, they had to be teenagers. God, how the hell did Taurus sleep at night?

Probably after showering off the blood of his enemies, if Roman was honest with himself. God, that was just another image that he didn’t need, wasn’t it? Taurus had always been disgusting, and Roman still couldn’t believe that he’d _ever_ agreed to work for the guy. Even if it was only temporarily. He should have known the slimy sleaze would figure out a way to fuck over Roman.

God, how much of this was Roman responsible for? Directly or indirectly, for that matter. Taurus had been desperate for Dust to pay Roman the way he had for that job. Now, it looked like the guy had a hot connection to Dust shipments across Vale. Roman had to wonder how much of that he’d allowed for. How many people he’d fucked over for the sake of some quick and easy cash.

So now, Roman sat at the dining area table of Junior’s apartment, squinting at the holo screens he had spread out across the table, all spawning from his singular Scroll.

He sighed and scrubbed his fingers through his hair, wishing he could talk to Neo about all this to hash it out with her. But she was back at their place tonight with the twins, leaving Mercury and Emerald to commandeer the twins’ room – with their permission, of course – so that they could finally get some privacy to sleep.

Roman hoped it would help whatever was going on with Mercury. He worried about the kid. He seemed so lost in all this, like Emerald made all the calls and he was just along for the ride.

He could have also hashed this out with Tukson, but Roman wasn’t too keen on talking to Tukson at the moment. The guy was off balance from everything, and while being a good friend meant that Roman was supposed to help him through all this, he couldn’t. It was impossible to shove aside his own worries regarding Tukson at the moment. Tukson had kissed him in that warehouse, obviously lost to his memories and to their past.

Roman worried what would happen if they ended up alone again together. Not because Roman would fall into the same trap, but because he hated hurting Tukson after everything else they’d been through together. And because he knew Tukson could very easily overpower him if he wanted. Not that Roman thought Tukson would, presuming he was sound of mind, but…

But that was the thing. Roman _didn’t_ know if Tukson was sound of mind at the moment. It was a serious concern for Roman. Tukson may have been shorter than Roman, only slightly, but he was still solidly built.

It worried Roman. A lot, actually.

“You still up?” The low rumble of Junior’s voice was usually a comfort on nights like these, when Roman’s mind kept him up long past decent. Tonight, it only served as a reminder that Roman had gone behind Junior’s back and done something terrible. Something that he wasn’t sure Junior would forgive him for if Roman confessed it to him.

Truth or lie? Which was the right answer here? Roman didn’t know.

“Unfortunately,” said Roman, giving a put-upon sigh as he stretched high into the air and leaned back in his chair. Junior padded up to him and slid his arms around the back of the chair, wrapping Roman in a sort of half hug. Roman leaned back into the touch, letting his head rest against Junior’s chest, He looked up at Junior, and the open love and affection in his eyes had Roman losing his voice for a moment.

He swallowed and pushed away from Junior, leaning over the pictures of the maps again. Pretended he didn’t see the hurt look on Junior’s face as he did it.

“What’s giving you trouble?” asked Junior. He sat down in the chair next to Roman, putting them at right angles to each other. Junior reached out to rest his hand on Roman’s knee, but Roman scooted back, pressing his lips together and avoiding Junior’s gaze.

Guilt was putting it lightly.

To tell the truth or to lie? He couldn’t avoid this forever, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Ro, talk to me,” said Junior. The concern in his voice, masking most but not all of the hurt, made Roman close his eyes so he wouldn’t be tempted to look at Junior. He knew he’d crack if he looked at Junior. “What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”

Roman shook his head and opened his eyes, staring down at the wood grain of the table. The room was illuminated by only a singular lamp and the glow of the holo screens. Roman didn’t like it. The shadows made it easy to fall into memories, into thoughts. Into the first night he’d spent with Junior and all the nights after, in every sense of the term.

He couldn’t do this.

“No,” Roman bit out. “You didn’t do anything. It’s…” He took a deep, shaky breath and looked up at Junior, who watched him with concerned grey eyes that pierced through every defense that Roman had. “It’s me, Junior, I did something really shitty, and I don’t know if you’re going to forgive me for it.”

“Hey,” said Junior, a touch of amusement in his soft and concerned voice. “As long as you didn’t murder anyone, we’re fine. I promise.”

Roman sighed, entire body slumping as he propped his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands. “You sure about that?” he asked, more than a touch bitter.

“Ro, you’re scaring me. What happened?” asked Junior.

Roman took a deep breath. “I kissed Tukson.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” said Roman, softly. He bowed his head and stared at the table. “Junior, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Why?” asked Junior, and his voice was so small, so hurt, that Roman didn’t dare try to look at him. He couldn’t bear the image of Junior’s heartbroken gaze, nor whatever else Roman would see on him. Anger? Betrayal? He didn’t know. God, he just didn’t know.

“We got caught up in the moment. He kissed me. I kissed back.” Roman swallowed hard and blinked back the tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I… I pushed him _away_ but I still let him kiss me.”

Silence. Then, “He kissed you?” A waver in Junior’s voice, indiscernible but there.

“Yeah,” said Roman, still staring at the table.

“And you pushed him away?” The waver still there, nothing else noticeable. No hurt, no frustration, nothing. As though Junior was keeping his voice carefully neutral. Roman tried not to think about what that meant.

“Yeah.” His voice cracked on the word and he wanted to curse. He wasn’t going to cry in front of Junior. This wasn’t about him. This was about _Junior._ He needed to get his head out of his ass and think about other people for once.

“Okay.”

Roman’s head came up. He stared. Blinked around the blur in his eyes and wiped at the tears that spilled down his cheeks. Damn it, he was going to ruin his make-up.

“What?” asked Roman, voice hoarse.

“Okay,” said Junior. He didn’t smile at Roman, but his eyes were sympathetic. He reached across the table and tangled his fingers with Roman’s. “I… I don’t know how to feel but…” Junior shook his head and looked away. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Roman tightened his fingers with Junior’s and sniffled, swiping at the tears on his cheek. His hand came back smudged with black and he knew he probably looked like a raccoon. “I’m so sorry,” whispered Roman. “I don’t have feelings for Tukson anymore, Junior. He caught me by surprise and I never, ever wanted to betray you.”

Junior nodded, though he looked doubtful. “I think…” He sighed. “I think you should go back to your apartment, Roman. Emerald and Mercury are free to pick where they want to sleep, but I think you and Neo should stay at home for a little while.”

“Okay,” said Roman, softly. His heart panged at the thought but he couldn’t say anything else. Couldn’t bring himself to argue because he’d expected worse and he didn’t even know if this was it. If this was the end of him and Junior. God, he hoped not. He’d risked the best friendship he’d ever had for this.

But he deserved it. He knew he did. God, he knew he did. He just had no idea what to say now.

So much for theatrics.

“I’ll… I’ll go,” said Roman, softly. He got to his feet and pretended the world didn’t spin. Pretended exhaustion and hurt didn’t cling to his bones and leave him stumbling and teary eyed.

This wasn’t about him. This was about Junior and Junior’s hurt. He wasn’t going to change that. He wasn’t going to put the spotlight back on him like he always did.

“Goodnight, Roman,” said Junior. “Send the twins back in the morning.”

Roman nodded, pulling on his coat and shoving his shoes on. “Sure, Ba—” He froze mid-word, grimaced, and corrected himself. “Junior,” said Roman, softly. “I’ll do that.” He hesitated at the door, grimaced again, and whispered “I love you” so quietly Junior wouldn’t hear.

Then he left, pushing out into the staircase, down through the club, and then out into the cool night air. There, Roman pulled his hat low over his eyes, shoved his hands in his pockets, and stumbled home. All the while, he pretended he didn’t feel the tears streaming down his face, unchecked. And, for once, he didn’t care that his mask was broken or that his make-up was ruined.

All he cared about was that he’d finally done it. He’d fucked up enough to lose the best thing he’d ever had, short of Neo.

And worst of all? There was nothing that could fix it.

Nothing at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	16. Bloody Knuckles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get this pain train going.

The sharp sound of metal on metal filled the air. Cane met parasol and Roman swore, sweat dripping down his forehead and into his eyes, blurring his vision. Neo was relentless in her attack, driving Roman back and back through the old warehouse they trained in until he was pinned in from both the walls and from her. He didn’t give up. It was pointless, he knew. Neo had been able to beat him since she was thirteen – she was that good – but god did he need a fight.

Strike, block, side-step, then swing low to go for her legs. She jumped back, backflipped neatly, and landed on one of the crates. He launched himself forward. The two met in the middle and Neo skid backward.

Roman launched himself forward again, but the world shattered around him and he stumbled, dropping to one knee. Neo pressed the tip of her parasol to his throat and he bowed his head in defeat.

She removed the parasol and helped him to his feet.

_“You’re sloppy,”_ she signed, when she let go of his hand and shoved her parasol under one arm.

“I’m tired,” snapped Roman, then winced when he realized how he sounded. He slumped and combed his fingers through his hair before looking for his hat. “Sorry.”

She shrugged. Roman pulled his hat back on from where he’d tossed it. When he was looking back at Neo properly, Neo lifted her fingers and flipped them around, sighing with her whole body as she did.

_“You’re upset,”_ she said. She put her hands on her hips and scowled at him.

“Am I not supposed to be?” asked Roman. “This is my fault, Neo. I betrayed him; I upset him; I told the truth; I did the right thing and now I’m paying for it.” He sighed and flopped onto one of the crates, tugging his hat low over his eyes to hide the telltale prickle of tears that had become common place for him in the last few days – ever since Junior had told him to leave.

Neo tapped his shoulder to make him look at her. _“You’re being dramatic_ ,” said Neo.

“I’m being _sincere_ ,” replied Roman. He sighed and leaned back, resting his hands behind him and staring up at the roof of the warehouse. Emerald and Mercury were back at the apartment, either napping or making plans. Mercury had seemed to finally be healing when Roman and Neo had left today. He was glad for that. He was worried about the kid. He seemed nice enough, though Roman had found out his last name was _Black_ , which just raised so many alarms.

Thankfully the kid’s dad was dead, so Roman didn’t have to worry about Marcus Black showing up at his door, demanding his kid back, and killing all of them. Though, Roman doubted very much that would have happened anyway, considering no one had even known Marcus Black had had a son.

Maybe his other kid – the one Roman had heard about – had died? Maybe Mercury was the little brother? Roman just didn’t know.

He did know, however, that he didn’t want to know how Marcus Black died. Even if he did have a very good idea, based on how often Mercury woke up screaming in the middle of the night.

No kid was capable of being trained for the kind of evil Marcus Black used to delve in. Even Adam Taurus had steered clear of Marcus Black. It was suicide, or worse, to go near the man.

Roman was more than glad he was dead. Less so over the apparent circumstances.

“I dunno, kid,” said Roman, dragging himself back to the present. He flipped his bangs out of his eyes, only for them to fall back in almost immediately. “I’m free falling into oblivion and there’s no net to catch me.”

_“I’ll catch you_ ,” said Neo, stabbing a finger at him. _“Don’t be so dramatic.”_

Roman’s lips twitched. As if that was possible. “Thanks,” he said, instead. “We should head back to the apartment.”

Neo sighed, a huff that was barely audible, and followed him out of the warehouse. As they walked, Roman slung an arm around her shoulders and she bumped her arm into his side.

Yeah, she’d catch him if he fell.

* * *

 

Tukson let out a low grunt as he hit the brick wall, cursing softly enough that Junior almost didn’t hear.

“Say it again to my face,” growled Junior, grabbing Tukson by the shirt when he tried to step away from the wall. Junior pinned him there, holding him off the ground by his shirt and getting in as close as he could to glare.

Tukson said nothing.

Junior growled. “It’s bad enough you kiss him and upset him. Now you’re walking into my bar and telling me how to run my relationship into the ground?”

“You’re already doing that well enough on your own,” said Tukson, glaring right back at Junior. There was the distinctive swish of bone and then pain bloomed in Junior’s left side. He cursed and dropped Tukson, grabbing at his side.

His hand came back clean, but his clothes were torn.

When he looked at Tukson, he saw the claws and fangs that had dropped to over human nails and teeth. Junior scowled. Tukson scowled back. Neither one moved.

“What do you want?” asked Junior, straightening and folding his arms across his chest.

“You know what I want,” replied Tukson, copying the gesture. He gave Junior a flat look. “Don’t play coy, it suits Roman better.”

“And what do you know about Roman?” asked Junior, unfolding his arms and balling his hands into fists.

“More than you,” replied Tukson. He scowled at Junior and Junior scowled right back. The tension rose between the two, crackling with lightning as Junior debated whether or not he could take the other man in a fight. Tukson was trained to fight, just like Roman, but in very different ways. He might have been able to stand up to him, but the shape it’d put him in wasn’t one he wanted to see anytime soon.

“What do you want, Tukson?” asked Junior again.

Tukson leaned against the wall, looking Junior up and down. “I don’t get what he sees in you.”

“Likewise,” said Junior, though he knew exactly what it was. Tukson suited Roman’s type well enough, and if he’d helped out with Neo when she was younger, they would have been close. Junior had only known Roman for a few years, but he’d seen how the other man dotted on her. Junior and Roman were family men, regardless of anything else, and they’d both protect their daughters with everything they had.

“He’s going to do something stupid, you know that, right?” asked Tukson. “He’s hurt because _you_ kicked him out.”

“You kissed him,” said Junior, voice going tight. He tried not to let his hurt show, but by Tukson’s look, it did. “I needed space.”

Tukson snorted. “Did you tell him that? Or did you just kick him out?” Junior said nothing. Tukson shook his head. “Thought as much.”

“What do you _want_?” asked Junior for a third time, the exasperation and frustration clear in the growl of his voice. Tukson’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth twitched, though Junior couldn’t place why.

“He won’t talk to me. Won’t let me in. Whatever the Fang is doing, they’re doing it soon.” Tukson stepped off the wall and jabbed Junior in the chest. Junior didn’t move. “You might want to talk to him before he plays Lone Ranger and gets himself hurt – or worse.” With that, Tukson shoved past Junior, knocking their shoulders together, and stalked out of the back room. He hesitated, looked over his shoulder, and said, “You have a customer.” Then, he was gone.

Junior took a moment to collect himself before stepping out of the back room and into the club. It was closed, so he didn’t know why he’d have a customer.

But the moment he saw the red eyed man at the bar, he knew why.

“Hei Xiong Jr.,” drawled the red-eyed man. He grinned and leaned forward on his folded arms. “Mind pouring me a drink?”

Junior frowned and stepped forward, behind the bar. At least there, he had his weapon. “So, you finally figured out who I am.”

“Yup,” said the man, popping his ‘p’. He held out his hand and Junior shook it hesitantly. “Name’s Qrow Branwen. Thought it was time we met.”

Junior took a look at Qrow’s vaguely disheveled appearance, then eyed the smattering of hickies on his throat. “Are you sure I’m not a stop on your walk of shame, instead?”

Qrow flashed him a grin that was too sharp. “Smart man.” He leaned back and spread his hands. “Can’t it be both?”

Junior shook his head and grabbed the nearest bottle – whiskey – and poured. Qrow took the glass and downed half of it in one go, teeth still showing in his smile. Junior watched him, aware of the sword on Qrow’s back and the decades of fighting in his bones. If Qrow wanted to hurt him, he could, without even trying.

“Heard you were looking for me,” said Junior, when Qrow put down the glass.

Qrow snorted. “Yeah. Heard you know just about everything worth knowing. I’m looking for two people.” Junior nodded and gestured for Qrow to continue. So long as Qrow was focused on his own problems, then maybe he wouldn’t try anything against Junior.

“One of ‘em’s my sister, Raven Branwen. Freaky goth chick, big ass sword, long hair, red eyes?” Junior frowned, thinking, as Qrow spoke. “She wears a Grimm mask, but she ain’t faunus.”

Realization dawned. “I saw her, once or twice, at the beginning of the school year. Just glimpses near the docks,” he said.

Qrow nodded, not looking surprised, but not looking disappointed either. “All right. The other one I’m looking for, you might know a bit more about ‘im – Adam Taurus.”

Junior swallowed and held very, very still. When Qrow looked at him expectantly, he looked away, grimacing. “He’s… I’m familiar with him. There’s a bit of a war going on here, at the moment.”

“I noticed,” said Qrow. “Faunus all over Vale are freaking out, including a few friends of my nieces’.” He shook his head. “No one’s sure what he’s doing in Vale, or even what he’s _been_ doing. Nothing really concrete so far.”

Junior remembered Roman’s research. What he’d said about Taurus. The pictures of the young people who had run from the White Fang.

Tukson’s fear, despite everything else.

“’Fraid I can’t help you,” said Junior, shaking his head and slightly pursing his lips. “I’ve been trying to keep my head above water, around here.”

Qrow chuckled, the sound bitter and disbelieving. “Yeah, I know that feeling.” He eyed Junior, focusing on his shoulders and his jaw. “You know, I thought Torchwick’s thing for you was mostly one-sided, but pretty sure you two are a pair.”

Junior swallowed and said nothing.

Qrow shook his head. “But hey, what do I know, right?” He downed the rest of his drink. “Can’t even keep my own fucking relationship straight, gods know I shouldn’t be poking at everyone else’s.” His fingers went up to one of the marks on his throat. He sighed, his eyes glowed, and all the marks faded. _Aura._ “Shouldn’t be walking around with those anyway. Not exactly like the guy who gave ‘em to me wants anything to do with me.”

Junior said nothing, but more because he wasn’t sure what he could say, rather than he was worried about incriminating himself.

Qrow got to his feet and went to dig his wallet out of his pocket.

“It’s on the house,” said Junior. “You seem like you need it.”

Qrow nodded and gave him a two-fingered salute. “Thanks, Xiong.”

“It’s Junior,” said Junior, in a quiet voice. He frowned. “I… don’t know exactly what Taurus is planning, but I know he’s going after something big around here. Check the old warehouses near the docks, he usually camps out there.” He shrugged. “You might find something there.”

Qrow narrowed his eyes at Junior, then gave a slow nod. “Thanks.”

“And Qrow?” said Junior. Qrow raised an eyebrow at him. “Whatever’s going on with you and this… guy.” Qrow’s lips twitched. “I get not being able to tell the world about a relationship, but if this guy can’t be honest with you even in private? Maybe you need to talk to him. Or find a better guy.”

Qrow flashed a grin, all cock and no substance. “You offering, big guy?”

“Taken, I’m afraid,” said Junior, a wry twist to his lips.

Qrow sighed. “Best ones always are,” he said with false dramatics. He cracked a smile, genuine this time. “Thanks, Junior.”

“Take care, Qrow.”

And then Qrow was gone and Junior was alone again, left to mull over everything he’d said. He stood there for a few minutes, thinking about his words, then cursed under his breath and grabbed his Scroll, calling Roman.

It went straight to voicemail.

With a frown and a growing pit in his stomach, Junior told the twins he’d be back late and headed for Roman’s apartment.

Something was wrong. Roman never turned off his Scroll.

Junior only hoped he wasn’t too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	17. Red Painted Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get worse.

The sky was on fire. Roman saw it coming up the street and he immediately broke into a run. _No._ His apartment was beneath that fire. His apartment was probably _part_ of that fire.

Taurus had found him.

“Emerald, Mercury,” shouted Roman, running up the street as fast as he could. His hat flew off but he didn’t bother going back for it. Neo kept pace beside him, her heels clicking sharply as they moved.

The two reached the building at the same time. Mercury came out of its shadow, helping Emerald stand upright. She was holding her side and there was blood splattered on the side of her mouth.

“What happened?” asked Roman, his eyes going to the inferno that raged behind them. He stepped up next to Emerald and slid her other arm around his shoulders, helping Mercury lead her away from the fire and to a bench a little way down the street. Neo moved alongside them, her gaze flickering from the fire to the trio as her gaze shifted from brown to pink to white.

“Fuckers planted a bomb in the lobby,” spat Emerald when she sat down. “I went downstairs to see if you two were on your way back, saw it go off.” She rolled her shoulders and hugged her side. “Broke my aura.”

“Neo, scout,” said Roman. He crouched in front of Emerald and frowned at the blood coming through her hand. _Fuck._ “Merc, tell me you have some aura left.”

“Uh, yeah, some, why?” asked Mercury.

Roman sighed and stood. “Because she’s not in good shape and she needs a boost to heal.” He looked at Mercury, locking eyes with the other man. “Think you’re up for it?”

Mercury nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.” He crouched in front of Emerald and pulled her hands from her side, lacing their fingers together.

“Don’t break yours to heal me,” mumbled Emerald. “You’re a better fighter.”

“You saved my life, lemme return the favourite, Emmie,” replied Mercury, squeezing her fingers.

Roman turned his attention from the two at Neo’s whistle. She pointed into the shadows around the fire. Roman narrowed his eyes and caught the flash of red and white just before it moved.

_Fang._

“Neo, move!” shouted Roman. Twin streaks of black, white, and red came from the shadows, launching themselves at Neo. She leaped into the air and flipped over them, slamming the end of her parasol into one of their backs. Roman flipped his cane up and shot at the larger of the two.

Behind the two, the fire blazed, and the smoke and light made it nearly impossible to see properly. They were backlit, simple silhouettes that blurred with motion. Roman hit the first near the feet and missed the second. His firework shot off into the burning building, sending screaming sparks up into the air.

Both Fang members flinched. Neo and Roman came at them from either side, striking hard and fast and with everything they had. They drove the Fang members back toward the building, trying to get them to back off.

They didn’t. In fact, driving them back toward the fire seemed to reignite their own, and the two attacked Neo and Roman with renewed vigor, working in perfect harmony to drive Neo and Roman back to back. They held up their weapons, glancing over each other’s shoulders, and nodded to one another.

Crack, flash, explode. Roman ducked and rolled as the Fang member hit a shattering mirror image of him. Neo rolled the other direction. He beat his cane across the back of the lackey’s head and twisted, catching the other one’s sword across the edge of his cane.

A strike to his knees, an incoherent shout from Neo. Roman buckled, got caught across the shoulders, and cursed. He spun around, catching the sword again, but his cane cracked.

_Oh no._

Roman’s eyes went wide and he rolled out of the way, pain burning up his shoulder as he rolled onto hot pavement.

His jacket lit on fire.

“Shit!” Roman tossed the coat and brought up his cane again, teeth and anger barred to the world. “What do you want?” he snapped.

One of the Fang members cocked his head. With the mask, the gesture was empty and impossibly creepy. “You,” he said before launching himself at Roman again.

Neo’s parasol struck the guy hard across the back. He yelped and went down. Roman started toward Neo, only to see her eyes going wide and over his shoulder.

He looked back just in time to see a beam come down.

Neo shouted. Roman braced for impact.

Nothing.

He half-expected to open his eyes and see Neo dead. That was how these things went. But no, Neo hadn’t grabbed him.

A Fang member had.

“Hey!” protested Roman, struggling in his grasp. More of them appeared from the shadows, all holding weapons. Neo backed up toward Emerald and Mercury, brandishing her parasol. She pressed her lips together and looked at Roman, both eyes white.

The message was clear. She couldn’t help him.

Roman jerked in the man’s grasp, his now-broken cane on the ground, and glared at him.

“Taurus wants to see you,” said the man.

“He can come to me, sweetheart,” said Roman, flipping his bangs out of his eyes. His eyes burned. Fuck, the smoke. It was coming down lower and lower, coating the streets like a fog.

That was _definitely_ someone’s semblance.

Roman grit his teeth, positive that his makeup was running, and looked to Neo and the others, but there were no Fang members around them.

“Just me then, huh? I’m flattered,” said Roman.

“We have no interest in _children_ ,” sneered the woman on Roman’s right.

Roman scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, doesn’t sound like the Adam Taurus _I’m_ familiar with.”

“Silence!” The woman slugged him in the gut and Roman doubled over, vision spotting and stomach heaving. “Knock him out.”

“With pleasure,” said another woman. She pressed her fingers to the side of Roman’s head. Everything wobbled, blurred, and then went dark.

And Roman Torchwick was taken away.

* * *

 

The sky was on fire. Junior stared at the smoke and fire that bled into the cloudy sky, the sirens loud in his ears as he stumbled, then started up the street, faster than before. His feet pounded the ground, his heart pounded in his ears, and the mantra of ‘ _please no, please god no’_ repeated over and over in his head. Panic flooded his veins and made him run faster, pushing passed the gathering crowd around the smoldering and burning apartment building.

_Roman’s building._

“Junior!” The voice was Mercury’s, loud despite the noise of the crowd all around. Junior’s head swung to the left and he spotted Mercury standing next to an ambulance. He jogged over, pushing through the rest of the crowd easily, and spotted Neo, leaned against Mercury, and Emerald, who was sitting in the ambulance, legs dangling out the back as a paramedic looked her over.

“Mr. Xiong,” said the paramedic, as Junior approached. Junior recognized her as a woman named Azure who had helped him out at the club a few times. “I don’t suppose these three are yours?”

He looked over the three and nodded. “Yes, they are.”

Azura raised an eyebrow at him, casting a glance over her shoulder at Neo, who watched everything with one white eye and pursed lips. “Even that one?”

“Yes,” said Junior, firmly. “They’re mine. I can take care of them from here, if everything’s fine.”

Azure snorted and rolled her eyes, straightening up and stepping away from Emerald, whose fingers immediately went to the bandages at her side.

“Nothing’s been ‘fine’ since the White Fang decided to start attacking the city, Mr. Xiong, but these three are cleared.” She eyed Neo and frowned. “Physically, anyway.” Neo stuck out her tongue and Azure scowled at her. “They can go, _for now._ ”

Junior helped Emerald to her feet and led the three away from the scene and the paramedics. Once he was certain they were out of earshot, he turned to them and stopped them, near the edge of a building.

“What happened?” he asked. He cast a glance over their heads to the burning shell of the apartment building. His eyes burned from the smoke and he blinked hard a few times, frowning. “Where’s Roman?”

“The Fang showed up and blew the building,” said Mercury. “Emmie got caught in the explosion and it blew her aura, so she got scraped.” Emerald held her side and leaned on Mercury, giving a thumb’s up. “Roman and Neo showed up and he showed me how to do the aura transfer thing to help her.”

Junior frowned. “But then, where is he now?”

“They took him,” said Emerald. She winced and held her side. “Fucking stitches,” she hissed, before turning her attention back to Junior. “The Fang got into a fight, Merc and I couldn’t help. Neo got tossed and they took Roman. We didn’t see where they went.”

Junior rubbed hand over his face and forced himself to stay calm. Roman was gone. Taurus had him. Now they had no idea where he was. _Shit._ There wasn’t much that could make this whole situation worse.

Then, he glanced over to Neo and saw her hug herself, soot and ash in her hair and tears in her eyes, and he realized that yes, it could be worse, for Neo.

Neo had just lost her father to a fight she couldn’t have possibly won.

Junior swallowed down his own fear – where was Roman? Was he even still alive? God, how were they going to fix this – and his own guilt – he never should have let Roman walk away. He should have come to talk to him sooner – and rested a hand on Neo’s shoulder, offering her a reassuring smile.

“We’ll figure this out,” he said to her. Then, to all three of them, he said, “I don’t have a lot of room at the apartment, but you’ve already stayed there before. You can come back with me. We’ll sleep, get some food, and sort this out.”

“You really think we can find him?” asked Mercury, sliding an arm around Emerald’s waist and holding her up. She flashed him a grateful smile before turning her attention toward Junior as well.

Junior nodded, even as the doubt clung to him. “I do,” he said, ignoring the sour taste of the words on his tongue. “We’ll find him.” The words were firm, despite everything. “Now come on, let’s get out of here before we draw a crowd.”

Neo nodded and followed Junior down the street, head hung and shoulders shaking with silent tears. Junior rested a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. He didn’t know what else he could do. Roman and Neo’s apartment – everything they owned that wasn’t still at the club – was _gone._ Roman was _gone._ And Taurus, the guy they’d had no luck tracking for weeks, still couldn’t be found.

They were out of leads. They were out of options. They were out of luck.

If something didn’t change soon, Junior wasn’t sure they stood a chance to find Roman. And that wasn’t even including what Taurus was planning on Beacon Academy. Or on those kids in the school. Or on Vale as a whole. They were missing so many pieces.

And now Roman was gone, and god, Junior couldn’t take that too. He needed to talk to Roman, to sort things out. He didn’t want to _lose_ him.

He… he loved Roman.

He wanted to be with Roman.

They could fix things. He knew they could.

But now Roman was _gone_ and Junior was _terrified_ and he had five teenagers in varying states of distress and injury to take care of. He wasn’t sure what to do. He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do.

Neo stepped out from under his arm and picked something up off the street. She dusted it off and Junior realized it was Roman’s hat. A little damp from the puddle it had fallen in, and a little dirty from the ash blowing down the street.

But it was Roman’s hat.

Neo clutched it close and let out a strangled sob, falling to her knees. Junior crouched and scooped her up into his arms, cradling her close and whispering words of comfort as they kept walking.

It was going to be a long, long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	18. Spite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back. Oops. Sorry for the delay! We're in the final stretch now. There shouldn't be another delay before we're done.

Roman came awake slowly, blearily. The world wobbled in and out of focus, grey and crooked before shifting to colour. He blinked, slow, and felt pain prickle behind his eyes and across the back of his head. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs and throat _burned._ Ended up coughing instead.

With slower, shallower breaths, Roman took inventory. All his limbs were there – he could tell from the _pain._ It was a low, dull ache. A thing that left him more aware than actively hurt. He was upright, too, arms tied behind him and feet tied to… a chair.

His eyes snapped open, eyes going wide.

_Shit._

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”

_Double shit._

Roman lifted his head, vision focusing, and found Adam Taurus straddling a chair about six feet from him. His arms were folded over the back and he leaned forward, his grin all teeth. The mask was in place; the eye holes glowed faintly. Roman swallowed but refused to show fear.

He could handle this.

“Well, well, Adam Taurus,” said Roman. His voice had a rasp to it, probably temporary smoke damage, but Roman didn’t let it deter him. He flicked his bangs out of his eyes with a practiced toss of his head and flashed a grin at Taurus. “Gotta say, I am _flattered_ that lil ole’ me is enough to get you all twisted up.” He wiggled his shoulders and leaned back in the chair, amusement dancing across his features. “And here I thought I wasn’t your _type_. Oh, how wrong I was.”

“Shut up,” snapped Taurus. Roman winked at him. Taurus growled. Roman was playing with fire and he knew it, but it was the only thing he knew how to do.

Self-preservation? Yeah, maybe when it came to Neo.

Speaking of which… where the hell was she? What had happened after he’d gone down?

“I must admit, you are a hard man to pin down,” said Taurus. “I’ll give you credit for _that_ at least.” The glow in the mask flashed and Roman ground his back teeth together to keep from twitching. “But once we found that apartment of yours, it was simple enough to flush you out.” Taurus tilted his head, eyebrows raising enough to make the mask shift. “Didn’t expect you to have so many… _kids._ ” The way he said the word made Roman scowl.

“Where are they?” asked Roman, dropping all pretense of his usual act.

Taurus smirked. “So, the mask finally falls.” He chuckled and lifted one hand to his mask. It occurred to Roman, then, that whatever weird, dark room they were in, they were alone in it. “Suppose I should even the playing field then, don’t you?” With that, he pulled off his mask and lowered his hand, letting the Grimm mask dangle from one hand.

Roman swallowed hard. Bloodshot red eyes. A scar over one that bisected his eyebrow. But it wasn’t the colouring, nor the scar, that bothered Roman about those eyes.

No, it was how dead they looked.

“What? You’re not disappointed, are you?” asked Taurus. He chuckled. “You didn’t think I was _actually_ a monster, did you?” The amusement in his voice made Roman’s skin crawl.

“Nah,” said Roman, flipping his hair again. “But I gotta admit, I hoped you’d be at least _something_ to look at.”

Taurus growled.

“You little—” But, abruptly, he cut himself off and chuckled, shaking his head. Roman swallowed, glad that Taurus wasn’t looking at him for a second. “I should have expected as much, really. You were never a good judge of character, were you?”

Roman wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

Taurus tilted his head to one side, his lips twisting up wryly. “Really?” he asked, something predatory in the low pitch of his voice. Then, he tilted his head in the other direction when he noticed the furrow of Roman’s brow. “My god, you actually think I don’t know.”

Taurus let out a sharp bark of laughter, fingers curling around the metal of the back of the chair as he leaned back, shaking his head. In the low light of the room, Roman took a quick glance around. It was obviously an old warehouse, this part set up as an interrogation room. He’d been in one or two of these before Neo. Hell, one of these places was how his aura had gotten unlocked to begin with.

Never did figure out his semblance though.

“You and Xiong,” said Taurus, settling himself back against the chair and leaning over the back of it. He grinned, all teeth. “I know he’s fucking you, Torchwick.” Roman barely managed to keep the surprise off his face. Instead, he kept his face neutral, not giving anything away even as his mind screamed at him.

Taurus knew about Junior.

Taurus knew about all the kids.

Taurus was going to hurt them.

And there was nothing Roman could do about it.

_Shit._

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Roman, voice hoarse. He swallowed hard, unable to hide everything as it set his fingers trembling behind his back. At the very least, he hadn’t completely cracked yet.

“Don’t you?” asked Taurus. He leaned forward, and, at this distance, Roman could see the crack in one of his teeth, smell the smoke that clung to him like a second skin. “I don’t like being kept in the dark, _Roman._ ”

Roman wracked his brain for something, anything, to say to Taurus. After a few seconds, he found something. “Aw, Adam, baby, are you jealous?” asked Roman. His voice was steady, despite the panic forming a lump in his throat. He even managed a light chuckle and a cheeky smile. “You know, hiring me for a _job_ doesn’t mean we’re _exclusive._ ”

Thank god for years of practice. Roman shrugged, rolling his shoulders. “Look, darling,” he caught the twitch on the word and noted it for later, “I’m serious. What makes you think there’s anything between me and Xiong?” The name was foreign on his lips, clumsy despite his mask. When was the last time he’d called Junior anything but ‘Junior’?

Probably the last time he’d called him ‘baby bear’, if Roman was honest.

“You used his men to steal my Dust,” said Taurus, stabbing a finger at him.

Roman cocked an eyebrow and let the disbelief spread into his eyes and the twist of his lips. “He hires them out, you know that, right?” Mockery. Probably a bad idea, but if he could keep Taurus’ attention on Roman, then maybe he wouldn’t go after Junior and the kids. “I was just doing business with him.”

Taurus cocked an eyebrow at him, the scar jumping on his face and making him look more grotesque than usual. “Really?” asked Taurus. “And I suppose ‘doing business’ includes letting him fuck you?”

Roman barely supressed a flinch.

Taurus grinned. “And ‘doing business’ includes going on dates, taking your kids out together, buying each other gifts, _living together_?” At each phrase, Roman went paler and paler, the blood draining out of his face and leaving his hands trembling behind his back. He tried to grasp for his mask as it fell away between his fingers and between Adam’s words, but it wouldn’t come.

All his cock, all his posturing, all his bravado, it fell away in the face of Taurus’ words.

Adam Taurus had been spying on him for who knew how long. Adam Taurus had seen him at his most vulnerable. Adam Taurus knew everything.

Adam Taurus knew where the kids were.

“There are White Fang operatives sitting outside that little club of his right now, you know that?” asked Taurus. He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’d be a damn shame if something were to happen to it with those kids inside. There’s, what, five of them now?” He hummed and leaned forward, bracing himself on his folded arms. “Darn shame.”

Roman licked his lips. “What do you want from me?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

Taurus chuckled, he leaned the chair forward on two legs, planted his own feet on the ground, and took Roman’s chin in one hand. Roman jerked his head, but Taurus held fast.

“Nothing much, Roman, just your skills,” said Taurus in a voice Roman didn’t like. “Now,” he flashed a grin that was all teeth and glowing eyes, “let’s talk business.”

* * *

Junior watched Neo pace back and forth, back and forth, in his living room. Her hands were gripped tightly together behind her back, rending her, effectively, speechless, and she didn’t look up from the intense, downward gaze she held at his floor.

Junior half wondered if she wasn’t going to wear or burn a hole right through his floor and fall down into the crawl space full of wiring, ducts, and plumbing that separated his apartment from the main club.

On the couch sat Miltia and Melanie on one end, who watched Neo’s pacing with near identical expressions of worry. Mercury sat on the far end, his legs tucked up close and his arms wrapped around them. He said nothing. Emerald sat on the arm, stroking Mercury’s hair with a blank look on her face and her unfocused eyes staring at her legs.

Junior wondered, based on their reactions, if they hadn’t met the White Fang before. If something else hadn’t spooked them before all this. They were just trying to survive, same as anyone else, and that was why Roman had aligned with them to begin with.

Well, that, and because they were kids and they needed protecting. Not that Roman would ever admit that part to Mercury or Emerald.

“There has to be something we can do,” said Melanie. “We can’t just leave small dad with the Fang.” She looked over the back of the couch at Junior, who leaned against the wall next to it. He pressed his lips together.

He’d already done something. Two somethings, in fact.

“We’re going to get him back,” said Junior, firmly.

“How?” asked Miltia. “Dad, come on, there’s no way we can get through the whole White Fang. We’re not hunters.”

Junior’s gaze flicked to Mercury and Emerald, who both looked at him, and to Neo, who paused in her pacing and pulled her hands in front of her to stare down at them.

He knew Neo had blood on her hands. He had a feeling Mercury and Emerald did as well. There was no good way to ask them to do it again to get Roman back, but Junior didn’t want to. Instead, he had something entirely different planned. Something that, with any luck, would turn the tide against Adam Taurus.

There was a knock at the door.

Neo furrowed her brow and looked at Junior, who merely headed to the door and pulled it open.

On the other side, looking much cleaner than when Junior had seen him earlier that day, was Qrow Branwen.

“Xiong,” said Qrow, giving a nod.

“Branwen,” replied Junior, trying to sound as serious as he did. Qrow’s lips twitched and Junior let him into the apartment. Once the door was closed, Junior turned his attention to the five teenagers, all of whom looked far more alert and on guard than they had a moment ago.

Mercury and Emerald stared at Qrow with wide, trembling eyes. Junior saw Qrow’s expression falter and go soft when he saw the two.

“Was wondering if you kids were still alive,” said Qrow in a quiet voice.

“Yeah, thanks to you,” said Emerald. She turned her attention to Junior. “Why did you bring him here?”

“He’s a huntsman,” said Junior, “and he’s willing to help.” Junior looked at Qrow, who stuffed his hands in his back pockets and grinned at him. “I think we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Qrow turned his lopsided grin to the others in the room and flicked his bangs out of his eyes. “Right, so, who wants to save Roman?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	19. Setting the Stage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've officially finished writing this fic. It has 22 chapters total, so we've got three weeks after this, woo-hoo

Junior didn’t trust Qrow. He would say ‘as far as he could throw him’, but considering Junior specialized in physical strength and Qrow was built like a pipe cleaner, Junior imagined he could throw the man a few hundred feet if he was pressed. Of course, the man probably had some sort of semblance that could knock Junior on his ass in an instant.

Regardless, Junior didn’t trust Qrow, but seeing as Qrow was his best shot at getting Roman back and taking down the White Fang, Junior didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Qrow was a huntsman, obviously good at information gathering, and had a vendetta against Taurus for some unspecified reason.

Add in Qrow’s sympathy regarding Junior and Roman’s relationship troubles, as well as his allegiance over promises of free alcohol while he was in Vale, and Junior had managed to form a tentative alliance with the man. If nothing else, it would have to do.

With any luck, Qrow wouldn’t backstab them or abandon them when Junior needed him most. Which, in truth, was partially why Junior hadn’t bothered contacting Tukson. Too many variables with that man. Though, part of the reason, Junior could admit, was because he knew Tukson would make comments about how he’d known Roman was going to do something stupid and if Junior had just _been smarter or faster or…_

Right. Something.

Junior already had enough of that bouncing around his head, he didn’t need more of it from Tukson.

“White Fang is holed up in a base out past the borders,” Qrow was saying. He’d set up in Junior’s living room, his scroll on the coffee table and holograms floating around them. Junior had never seen a scroll this advanced before, and he was more than a little impressed at it, especially the way Qrow was tossing around full colour videos in midair like it was his everyday routine.

In regular scrolls, Most of them were blue-tinted and stuck to surfaces. This was something completely different. Junior had a feeling it was a new Atlas model, but he had no idea how Qrow could have gotten it.

Maybe his mysterious bed fellow was an Atlas scientist? Who knew.

Qrow tapped the hologram floating above the table, lighting up a small section outside the borders of the city. “If we can get in there, we’ll have a good chance at finding where they’re holding Roman.” Qrow spun the hologram and flicked his wrist, turning it from laying flat like a map to floating upright like it was on the wall. “We’ll need to scout it out first, if we want any chance at getting through without setting off a firefight.” Qrow eyed the five teens and Junior. “Don’t suppose any of you could take on the Fang?”

Mercury and Emerald looked at each other, obviously waiting for the other to speak. After a minute, Mercury sighed and leaned forward.

“I could probably take a few of them, at least,” he said. He grimaced and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not exactly trained in mercy though.”

Qrow nodded. “Didn’t think you were, being Marcus Black’s son and all,” he said. Mercury snorted, but said nothing. Junior didn’t question it. He did, however, question something else.

“How do you three know each other?” asked Junior, gesturing between Mercury, Emerald, and Qrow.

The two teens exchanged another glance, a thousand words spoken silently in an instant. Qrow took the lead while they hesitated.

“I killed Merc’s father,” said Qrow. He cocked his head. “Wasn’t originally planning to, mind you, but…” He shook his head and pressed his lips together, shrugging with his hands. “It is what it is.”

Junior couldn’t help the way his eyes widened and how he shifted back, subtly moving away from Qrow. Not out of fear, no, but out of surprise.

He’d thought Qrow, as strange as it was to say, was one of the ‘good guys’. And, if nothing else, Junior had always thought that they were supposed to be better than the people they fought.

But, maybe he still was. There was no rule that said that the other side – the side Junior was supposedly on, though less and less so as time went on – couldn’t kill at all. Killing an abusive, murderous, asshole wasn’t the same as killing a child, or an innocent person.

“What, you disappointed in me, Junior?” asked Qrow, cocking an eyebrow.

Junior shook his head. “Marcus Black was a monster,” he said. There was something else, though, something else that Junior couldn’t quite place. Because he was staring at Marcus Black’s son, sitting on his couch, with a girl who could disappear.

Except that couldn’t be right, because Junior had just remembered something about Marcus Black he’d forgotten.

“I didn’t know Marcus Black _had_ a son,” said Junior, frowning.

Mercury snorted and settled against the couch. He looked Junior head in the eye as he said, “Neither did he.”

Junior frowned. “He raised you.”

“Yup,” said Mercury. “Doesn’t mean he called me Mercury.” He watched Junior, waiting for him to notice.

And suddenly a lot about Mercury’s actions since he’d gotten there made a _lot_ more sense.

“Oh,” said Junior, blinking a few times. He tilted his head. “That’s… that makes sense. Huh.” He shrugged. “Well, kid, I’m glad you get to be yourself, now.”

Mercury cracked a smile, the tension draining out of his shoulders. “Thanks,” he said. He stretched, bumping his fingers against Emerald’s jaw lightly. He cracked a smile at her and she cracked a smile back, carding her fingers through his hair.

“So, we’re gonna save Roman,” said Emerald, leaning forward. She cocked an eyebrow at Junior and Qrow, looking between them. “Well, Branwen, you’re the expert on breaking and entering, you tell us what we’re supposed to do.”

Qrow nodded and flicked the maps again. Getting them back on topic, he said, “All right, so, we go into their base, find out where they’re holding Roman, and get the hell out before they have a chance to grab us.”

Neo watched from her corner of the couch, never twitching, never reacting. She simply watched, brow furrowed, as they all worked.

Junior caught her attention with a nod of his head. He gestured to the kitchen and Neo nodded, getting up from her spot and following Junior into the quiet, empty room.

For a moment, neither moved to communicate. Junior wasn’t sure what to say, and Neo most likely did nothing because Junior wasn’t as well versed in sign language as he would have liked. He knew enough to keep up with the basics, but he had no idea what she said when she and Roman got going half the time.

Something else he regretted, as of late.

“How’re you holding up?” asked Junior. He leaned back against one of the kitchen counters and rested his hands on it, behind him. Slouching like this, the nearly impossible difference in their sizes wasn’t quite as pronounced, but trying to minimize that difference was like trying to put a band-aid on a broken bone.

Neo shrugged and wrapped his arms around herself. Somewhere between hugging herself and crossing her arms. Junior wasn’t sure which one she’d meant to do, or if she even realized how it looked. There was a faraway look in her eyes, and her left one had been white ever since they’d gotten back to the apartment. In fact, Junior thought this might have been the longest time he’d ever seen Neo with a stable eye colour. It was always changing, flickering with her expressions and her moods, but, now, it was holding steady. One brown, one white.

It was the white that worried him. He knew what it meant. So did the twins. While Mercury and Emerald didn’t, not for certain, they’d most likely noticed the change in her demeanour.

Neo was falling and Junior wasn’t sure how to catch her.

“Neo, please,” said Junior. He kept his expression and his stance as non-threatening as possible. “I want to help.”

She shrugged and stared at the floor, lower lip trembling before she pressed her lips tightly together. After an impossibly long moment that couldn’t have been more than five seconds, she unfolded her arms and raised her hands with her eyes, looking at Junior as her fingers flicked through slow motions.

 _“What if we can’t find him?”_ she asked. Junior had to focus all his attention on her hands to catch that, and he only hoped that he managed to get it all right.

“We will,” he said, glaze flicking up to her face. His words were determined and so was his expression. “That’s why I called Qrow. If anyone can find Roman and stage his rescue, it’ll be him.”

Neo narrowed her eyes, fingers twitching. Junior flicked his attention back to her hands.

 _“But?”_ The word was short, simple, but it conveyed everything she needed to.

What if they couldn’t? What if Junior was placing his trust in the wrong man? What if Qrow couldn’t find Roman?

What if someone else was captured?

Junior had thought of all these questions as he’d waited for Qrow to arrive and more. He wondered how many of them had occurred to Neo while she’d sat there, listening and watching them all. She’d just lost her father. She’d just lost a _fight._ From what Roman had told Junior, Neo hadn’t lost a proper fight in a while. She was strong, powerful, and she had no qualms about being absolutely brutal if it meant keeping herself and Roman safe.

How had the Fang gotten the drop on her that badly? How had they managed to take her down like that?

He didn’t know. And he didn’t know enough sign for Neo to tell him. Maybe she could type it out on text-to-speech, or write it down. But neither of those options were particularly appealing to Junior and, he imagined, were even less so for Neo.

Some part of Junior, despite claiming he didn’t know, had a feeling the loss had to do with Neo being a child. Because she was, as much as people tended to forget it. She had only turned sixteen a few months ago. She was younger than his own daughters, younger than first years at Beacon. She wasn’t invincible.

He needed to remember that.

“We’re going to get him back,” said Junior. Neo gave him a flat look, but her eyes betrayed her fear as the other one went white when she blinked. Neo pressed her lips together, tugging on her hair. “I know there are a lot of variables, and I know you might not believe me. But you have to trust me, all right? We’re going to save him, we’re going to stop the Fang, and…” He shook his head. “Then Roman and I will talk, all right?”

Neo watched him. Her fingers twitched, but she didn’t move to speak. Junior figured that, whatever she wanted to say, he wouldn’t understand it anyway.

“I’m sorry, about all of this,” said Junior, softly. “It’s not fair to you or Mili or Melanie, what’s going on. You shouldn’t have to be part of our fighting.”

Neo rolled her eyes, one of them going pink, and crossed her arms over her chest. She cocked an eyebrow at Junior, challenge in her eyes.

The message was simple enough – ‘try and stop me’.

“You don’t mind it?” asked Junior. Neo shook her head, frowned, paused, then nodded. Then, she sighed, silent as ever, and shrugged.

 _“Complicated,”_ she signed, leaving it at that.

Junior snorted. “Tell me about it,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. He watched Neo, seeing the way her fingers kept twitching as she tried to figure out what to say to him. “What?” he asked, when he saw her hesitate.

 _“We need help_ ,” said Neo.

“Yeah, we do,” said Junior. He pushed off the counter and gestured back to the living room. “Come on, let’s ask Qrow about it. Maybe he’ll know something.” He led Neo back to the living room.

“Hey, Qrow?” called Junior as he walked into the room.

“Yeah?” asked Qrow. He looked back at Junior, raising an eyebrow. “We were just finalizing a plan. Everything good?”

Junior nodded. “Yeah, everything’s good.” He hesitated, thinking about something else, then said, “Once we take down Taurus, you know someone who could pick him up?”

Qrow frowned, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, I got someone. Don’t worry about it.”  He shrugged. “All right, I’ll call him later.” He gestured for Junior and Neo to sit down and take a closer look at his hologram. “Now, let’s go over this plan, shall we?”

Junior nodded.

As Qrow launched into his explanation on what was going to happen, Junior’s gaze drifted over to Neo. She looked as determined as Junior had ever seen her, both of her eyes shifting back to brown as she watched Qrow explain everything.

If it was the last thing she did, Junior knew, she’d save her father.

And Junior would be right there alongside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	20. Rescue Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get this climax on the road, shall we?
> 
> This is gonna be fun.

Night fell across the city of Vale, a day after Roman had been taken and his and Neo’s apartment burned down. Qrow had wanted to wait longer, for safety reasons, but Taurus wasn’t known for his mercy, and the longer they waited, the more likely it was that Taurus would do something drastic to Roman.

Maybe not to get their attention, but because Roman had a habit of not knowing to quit while he was ahead, and Junior had a feeling that Roman was going to get himself into a boat load of trouble if they didn’t rescue him as soon as possible.

And, if rescuing Roman made it easier to save Beacon Academy, Vale, and the teenage girl that Taurus was targeting, well, Junior wasn’t exactly going to protest being able to do a good deed. But his priority was Roman. First, Roman, then, heroism. Everything else came later, if need be.

At the moment, the seven – Qrow, Junior, and the five teens – had crept up on the warehouse where the White Fang was currently staged. Through Qrow’s sleuthing and what remained of Roman’s data from his and Tukson’s stealth mission, they’d managed to track them down rather quickly.

He and Mercury, the heavy hitters of the plan, were hanging back from Neo and Qrow, who were going to be heading inside once Miltia, Melanie, and Emerald set off the distraction. Between Emerald’s semblance and the stealth outfits the twins had rigged up, they had a good chance at getting out without being detected.

Junior only hoped that it worked out.

Ahead of him, Qrow gave the signal for the mission to start. The girls gave a nod and the three were gone, disappearing into the shadows as they headed for the two points to set off a minor explosion as a distraction. Junior still wasn’t sure about using an explosion as a distraction, but this wasn’t just about rescue. This was _also_ about revenge.

They’d already had to talk Neo down from stringing up the White Fang members by their genitals and leaving them for the police to find. Minor explosions were nothing compared to the violence she’d suggested a handful of times.

Junior forgot, sometimes, that she had a violent streak none of them could explain or predict. Mostly, Roman had always just hoped it didn’t get in the way of what he did and kept her out of the path of darkness, as he put it.

It felt a bit like betrayal, putting her in this position. Like they were undoing all the hard work Roman had put into ensuring that she never fell further than he did, or even reached his level.

But the plan was solid, even if Junior wasn’t sure it would work, and so he let it go, and he wore a brave face while they headed out. Next to him Mercury narrowed his eyes.

“Scared, big guy?” asked Mercury.

Junior opened his mouth to say ‘no’, but then he saw Mercury’s expression. No judgement, no teasing, just open curiosity and maybe a bit of concern.

He sighed. “Would you think less of me if I said yes?” asked Junior.

Mercury shook his head. “Nah, fear makes you smart. Keeps you alive.” Mercury leaned against the brick wall of the warehouse and flashed a smile at Junior, mostly self-deprecating but teased with the cockiness that seemed to linger in Mercury the more he recovered from his and Emerald’s ordeal before they’d met Roman. “Kept me alive for eighteen years.”

Without conscious thought, Junior’s hands clenched into fists and he let out a low, frustrated noise. Mercury cocked an eyebrow at him in question.

“When this is over…,” started Junior, but he realized quickly that it was probably inappropriate, and stopped.

Mercury’s mouth twisted from smile to smirk, eyes dancing. “What, don’t tell me you want three kids whose names start with ‘m’, do you?” Mercury shook his head. “Trying to complete the set?” Junior wasn’t sure, but he swore there was a touch of hope in Mercury’s voice, underneath the teasing.

He chanced that there was. “Would you mind if I wanted to?” he asked.

Mercury faltered, mouth opening and closing a few times without noise. He looked away, ears pink, and pressed his lips together. Then, so quiet, Junior might not have seen or heard if he wasn’t watching so closely, he shook his head and whispered, “No. Not really.”

Junior clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. Mercury smiled back. The two turned their attention back to scouting. Qrow and Neo lingered ahead, the two of them twitching fingers to communicate. Neither seemed to have noticed their little exchange.

Qrow looked back at Junior and nodded, his head flicking up to the roof. Junior nodded in return.

Time to get into position.

He and Mercury both fell back into the shadows, their dark clothing allowing them to disappear. Ahead of them, Qrow and Neo crept up to the warehouse and slipped beneath one of its awnings, looking around. Then, Qrow shifted to cup his hands in front of him, and gave Neo a boost up to the window. Qrow swung over the awning and landed neatly against the wall next to Neo, latching onto the window sill and pulling themselves in.

Then, they were gone, and Junior and Mercury were left to wait for the explosion.

They didn’t have to wait long. It was thirty, maybe forty-five seconds later, when a sudden flash of light, a series of loud booms, and a vibration through the ground hit Junior and Mercury. They both wobbled, eyes wide.

That was a _minor_ explosion?

White Fang members started shouting and a dozen or so swarmed out of the building, heading for the source of the explosion.

With a whispered prayer for Emerald and the twins, Junior turned to Mercury and nodded. The two waited for the coast to be clear and ran for the building.

Time to get to work.

* * *

 

Roman had been curled in the corner of the cell he’d be so _graciously_ afforded when the explosion sounded in the distance. The bare bulb above him swung and, for a moment, Roman wondered if it wouldn’t shatter. But then the shaking stopped and Roman was left in the same dim, exposed lighting as before.

Had the police finally tracked down Taurus?

But no, this wasn’t right, not for the cops. They were in the part of Vale with dumb cops – Roman would know, he had a map – which meant that it was someone else out there. Maybe the turf war with others had finally gotten too much, but that had always been a cover and always with Junior and Roman, hadn’t it?

Junior…

Roman closed his eyes as he heard noise in the distance of the warehouse, beyond his little prison. Shouts, screams, the staccato rhythm of gunfire, the telltale smell of Dustpowder weapons being used in place of aura ones – how the Fang got a hold of those was a whole other story. Roman suspected it was probably his fault. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But it did mean the ammo would run out a lot faster than with aura weapons. Though it also meant that their auras wouldn’t drop as fast either.

Trade-offs. He wasn’t sure which one was better, in this situation. Didn’t know if it would even matter. His own aura was back, not all the way up, but there enough to take a few hits from Dustpowder bullets. But after that, he was fucked. Especially if this building came down.

He needed to get out of here. But how?

Roman pushed himself to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. There were no windows in his cell, Taurus wasn’t that stupid, and he had no idea if his cane had even made it with him to the warehouse. Never mind that he’d never actually figured out what his semblance was, or even if he had one, and that was a depressing thought for another day, thank you. So, that left that figuring out if he was strong enough – aura and body – to break down the bars in his little cell. He knew they couldn’t be grounded far in the ceiling, so he could probably kick them out if he had to.

No telling what that’d do to the rest of him though, but Roman figured he should chance it. He took a deep breath and jumped, catching the pipe hanging from the ceiling. It was warm to the touch, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Though he did miss his coat. And his hat. And his gloves. Taurus really had stripped him of basically everything he cared about.

Except one of his rings, but considering he wore that one on his left middle finger, he had to wonder if Taurus didn’t think it was a wedding band.

…Now there was a thought.

For _another_ time. Like _four years from now._ Assuming Junior would even take him back. Which Roman didn’t think he would.

Roman took a breath and swung himself forward, kicking at the tops of the bars with his feet. He couldn’t quite get the leverage he needed, but one of the bars came loose, leaning out about a foot. But it didn’t move again, nor did any of the others loosen.

Roman dropped back to the ground and cursed, gritting his teeth together as he swept his hair out of his face.

“Damn it,” he muttered. How in the hell was he supposed to get out if he couldn’t get the bars loose? There had to be _something._ The door was too far away from the pipe for him to kick at it from up there, but maybe if he used some leverage he could get the loose pipe out before someone stumbled across him.

Or, knowing his luck, someone would hear the clang and rush in, guns blazing. Then he’d be well and truly fucked, and not even in the way he usually preferred. Which he really shouldn’t have been thinking about right now, but his priorities had never been great outside of ‘lie, cheat, steal, survive’ and ‘Neo’. If it wasn’t one of those, he often ended up lost.

Another explosion rattled the warehouse and Roman took a knee, cursing. His head was starting to ache from the vibrations coming through the ground and he could feel it ricocheting up into his spine until he was shivering from it all.

He needed to get out of here before it all came down around him and he ended up under a bunch of rubble, dead or dying.

There was a whistle in the distance that Roman knew better than his own name. He got to his feet and grabbed that bars. They were vibrating from the explosions too.

From the shadows, Neo appeared. Right behind her was a man that Roman had thought he’d never see again.

“Neo!” said Roman. Neo let out a sharp yip and ran for the door. She scowled at it and looked back at the red-eyed man behind her.

“Hey, Torchwick.”

“Long time no see, Qrow,” said Roman, flipping his bangs out of his hair. “Wanna let me out? Lockpicks are too slow for this.”

Neo looked from one to the other, eyebrow raised. She lifted her hands, dropped them, and shook her head. She didn’t seem to want to know.

Roman didn’t blame her.

The story of how he knew Qrow Branwen wasn’t exactly PG-13.

Of course, they’d met before, back in the bar, but Roman hadn’t recognized him back then. He’d thought Qrow was just a random huntsman with red eyes and a killer bod. It hadn’t been until later, when he was alone, that he’d remembered that one night in Mistral, with a rusty eyed huntsman with sharp teeth and sharper thrusts.

It seemed Qrow had remembered him as well.

Qrow shrugged and pulled his sword, holding it out and gesturing for Roman to move. “Too bad we didn’t recognize each other, before,” said Qrow.

“Too bad,” agreed Roman. He stepped back and Qrow lunged, slashing at the lock at the door. It split down the middle and fell, the door swinging open.

Roman stepped out from his cell and stretched, smiling at Neo. She held out his hat, pulling it from god knew where, and he took it, perching it on his head and pulling the brim down over his bangs on the right side.

“Good to be back,” he said. Neo hugged him around the middle and Roman patted her hair. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Girls are making a distraction outside,” said Qrow, jerking his head toward the door behind him. “Long as the Fang is distracted, we should be able to get you out of here in one piece.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. “Don’t suppose we can get my coat back?”

“Hey, if you wanna die,” said Qrow. He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets, eyes twinkling. “Your choice, Torchwick.”

“Pass,” said Roman. He ruffled Neo’s hair and gestured for Qrow to lead. The three of them headed out of the warehouse. They ran through the shadows and through the dust, through the puddles and through the noise, through the warehouse until they reached the doors and burst out into the low light and the chaos.

White Fang members swarmed everywhere, Dustpowder and aura ammo blasting through crates and tearing up the docks. Roman cringed at the noise, his fingers twitching for a weapon he no longer had. At least he had his hat.

A flash of red in the distance as Qrow grabbed Roman and Neo and hauled them out of the line of fire. Roman didn’t know who it was, but he saw green a moment later and knew that had to be Emerald.

“Where the hell are the cops?” asked Qrow.

“Dumb cop district,” said Roman, the map clear in his mind’s eye. “It’ll take them a while. Might get students though.” He grimaced. “Which probably works to their fucking advantage. Fantastic, I’ve actually made this work.”

Qrow rolled his eyes. “We’ll get out of here.” He leaned back and squinted around a corner, eyes distant. “I think I know what to do. C’mon.” He gestured for them to follow, and they all took off.

They barely made it fifteen feet before a figure in black and red dropped down in front of them, lines glowing across his hair, mask, and outfit.

“ _Taurus,”_ hissed Roman.

Taurus grinned and drew his sword, which glowed as brightly as the rest of him. “And just where do you think you’re going?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	21. Reunite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One left after this folks. Oh boy.

Gunfire, shouting, and more than a few minor explosions – noises that filled Roman’s ears as Adam Taurus stalked toward him and his two companions: one a man he’d only recognized the second time they’d met, and the other his daughter. He swallowed hard and reached for a cane that wasn’t there, watching the glowing sword that marked his end if he strayed too close.

Now would have been a fantastic time for lightning to strike the place where Adam Taurus stood, or perhaps a chasm to swallow the docks whole, allowing time for Roman and his family – and Qrow – to escape. Something, anything, would have been better than what was going on right now. If he didn’t think of something, and fast, they were all screwed.

It was Qrow who spoke, drawing his sword and holding it one-handedly in front of him, standing between Neo, Roman, and Taurus.

“Go,” said Qrow.

Roman faltered. “What?”

Qrow glanced over his shoulder and growled out, “Now. I’ll hold him off.” Roman hesitated only a second longer – long enough for Taurus to lunge and for the two blades to meet. Roman didn’t wait any longer, he caught Neo by the sleeve and tugged her back, away from the fight.

The two took off, moving around the shipping crates and warehouses of the docks that had quickly become a battlefield. Neo’s heels clicked sharply against the ground as she ran, and Roman’s own footfalls weren’t much quieter. They dodged around crates, sliding behind buildings, until they stumbled and Roman hauled Neo back behind a shipping crate to avoid the man they’d nearly run into the back of.

Onyx Banesaw, Lieutenant of Adam Taurus and a man Roman did _not_ want to deal with right now. He was massive, hulking beast of a person, wielding a giant chainsaw sword that could cut through bone and concrete like they were butter.

He and Neo looked to one another, the noise around them so cacophonous that Roman didn’t dare speak.

_“We need a plan,”_ signed Neo. Her fingers twitched toward her umbrella, her lips pressed together and her eyebrows drawn together over her nose.

Roman nodded and glanced over his shoulder, toward where Banesaw was dragging his chainsaw toward the telltale sound of bullets. Mercury, most likely, and Roman wasn’t sure who would be with him, or even if Mercury could handle a guy like Banesaw. Shit, he knew hunters who couldn’t.

_“We need to get around him – find Junior,”_ signed Roman, fingers quaking slightly. If Neo noticed, she ignored it. She laid a hand atop Roman’s, smiled, then lifted both hands to her chest. She curled his hands into loose fists and touched her knuckles together before tilting her hands forward and down.

_“How?”_ she asked. She cocked her head as her fingers moved, watching Roman closely.

Roman glanced toward where Banesaw’s shadow appeared and watched as the man walked past them, not noticing them. All around them, noise continued – shouts, crumbling shipping crates, gunshots and blades. It was hard to believe it was just Roman and his family, plus Qrow, against the entirety of the White Fang.

They’d probably planned it as a stealth mission, come to think of it. Not that that was working out for them right now.

As his gaze turned back toward Neo, Roman saw the symbol on the shipping crate behind her. His eyes grew wide. He’d know that symbol anywhere. The symbol of the Schnee Dust Company in Atlas. Roman leaped back and looked at the containers around them. All four of them had the same symbol. All four of them the same texture, the same stamp, the same everything.

A slow grin spread across his face and he looked at Neo, who continued to watch him with growing confusion and curiosity.

“Dust containers,” he said, gesturing to them. With Banesaw gone, the gunshots moved away, and Roman could hear himself. “Must be the first shipment Taurus mentioned, before I stole the rest.” He let out a low chuckle and ran his fingers around the rim of his bowler hat. “What do you say Neo, want to make these explosions look like child’s play?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Neo studied the symbol next to her for a moment, brow furrowed, then turned and smiled at Roman, the same sly look in her eyes that Roman often saw in the mirror. She gave a nod and drew the blade from her umbrella, slicing the lock on the nearest container.

“Let’s go to work,” said Roman. He stepped passed Neo and hauled open the door, stepping back to let it swing open the rest of the way.

Inside, the crates and cases stared back at them, unassuming but for the Schnee Dust Company logos that were pasted perfectly central on each and every one. Roman looked to Neo, who stared with wide, pink eyes at it all. She turned her head and grinned at Roman, sly and cunning.

_“Big boom?”_ she asked, making an explosion noise with her mouth. Roman nodded and tipped his head.

“Yeah, cupcake, we’re gonna make a _big_ boom,” said Roman. He let out a low chuckle and gestured to one of the crates. Neo took the blade from her parasol and stabbed it into the edge of a crate, planting one foot for leverage before hauling at the blade and popping the top of the create.

Roman strode over to the crate and leaned over it, spying the rows upon rows of uncut Dust crystals. He let out a low whistle and a chuckle, shaking his head. He pulled one of the lightning Dust crystals out of the crate and tossed it up and down a few times, a plan spinning behind his eyes. He could see it – the positions, the players, the pieces, everything they’d need to take down the White Fang where they stood and get out of here alive.

All he needed down was a little extra help.

“Think you can find the twins without getting caught?” asked Roman, looking to Neo. She gave a nod, slid her blade back into her umbrella, and took off out of the shipping container. Roman pulled the container partially shut and started stripping the crates of anything useful he could find.

Before Neo got back, he wanted to make sure he had everything he needed for this to work.

It didn’t take long – not for him and not for Neo. Within a few minutes, she reappeared with the twins, as well as Emerald, and Roman handed them Dust crystals he’d pried up. He knew these ones well – wind, ice, and water. Not the most destructive combo, but that wasn’t why he’d grabbed them.

They needed an escape route when he blew the fire and lightning crystals in here, after all.

“Small Dad!” said Miltia, grinning at him. Melanie gave him a quick hug, then both girls stepped back and frowned. “Aren’t you and Dad fighting?” she asked, cocking her head to one side. Roman sighed and nodded.

“It’s a long story, kiddo, but yeah, we are. I fucked up pretty badly, and now I’m trying to make it right,” he said. He tapped his hat and smiled at them. “Think you can help me?”

The girls exchanged a look, then nodded. “Tell us what you need,” said Melanie.

Roman’s gaze went to Emerald. “You know where your boyfriend is?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Emerald’s eyes narrowed. “He’s not—” she started, but Roman cut her off.

“Kid, if you saw the way you two look at each other, you wouldn’t be saying that,” said Roman. “Now, do you know where he is?”

Emerald gave a terse nod. “He’s in the back area, with Junior. They’re working on clearing us a path out of here.” She eyed the crates that Roman had rearranged to mostly be lighting and fire crystals. “What are you planning?” she asked.

Roman grinned. “A very big boom,” he said. He grabbed his own crystals and nodded to Neo. “Mirror up, you’re going to be our detonator.” Neo nodded and her eyes both shifted brown. Roman felt a prickle on the back of his neck and nodded again. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” They all slipped out of the crate and headed back into the corners of the warehouses, hiding between the shipping containers, as they made their way toward Mercury and Junior.

Neo tugged on Roman’s sleeve and Roman looked to her. Her fingers twitched, asking a single question – Qrow. Roman swallowed. He had no idea what would happen to Qrow if they blew the docks, nor if Qrow was in the blast radius. He was off fighting Taurus, so he could be anywhere.

As Roman struggled with his thoughts, they came to the edge of the docks, and Miltia and Melanie both took off.

“Dad!” they called. Roman looked up just in time to see them hug Junior closely, and when Junior lifted his head, he smiled at Roman, and Roman lost the ability to breathe for a moment.

God, he’d missed this man. How had he _ever_ even _considered_ hurting him?

“Junior,” said Roman, his voice quivering. He cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks burn. “We should keep going.”

Neo nudged him with her elbow and gave him a flat look. Roman glared at her. Neo rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

“We need to get moving,” protested Roman, scowling at her. Neo scowled right back and grabbed Emerald, dragging her toward Mercury. Emerald dug in her heels, but Neo had her beaten in raw strength, so they kept moving.

Hesitantly, Roman and Junior approached each other.

“Hey,” said Roman, softly.

Junior nodded to him. “Hey,” he replied, in the same voice. Neither one looked at the other. Around them, the kids groaned and Mercury muttered something that neither Roman nor Junior could make out.

“Are you all right?” asked Junior, looking to Roman.

Roman nodded. “Yeah, yeah, fine.” He swallowed hard and swallowed his pride with it. “Listen, Junior…” He trailed off, only for a bang to break up the pause. Everyone jumped at the bang and they all looked up to see Qrow Branwen peel himself out of a dented shipping crate.

“That’s all of us,” said Emerald.

Roman nodded to Neo, who opened her umbrella and took a deep breath. One of her eyes went white, and Roman felt the prickle on his neck again.

“Taurus!” shouted Qrow. Taurus came over the crates and Roman cursed. They weren’t catching him in the blast.

“Now!” shouted Roman.

For a second, nothing. Then, the explosion ripped through the air, blasting out Roman’s and sending him sprawling, back hot, across the pavement at the edge of the old docks. His crystals exploded, sending water and wind swirling around them to cushion the blow as they all fell. The entire world whited out and Roman hit the ground, aura flaring as it covered for his injuries.

His ears rang, his body ached, and he was faintly aware of the smell of fire and smoke all around him.

Roman groaned, feeling it in his chest rather than hearing it, and looked up. The world wobbled, unable to solidify as he struggled to force himself upright. Nothing worked. He was left clawing at the gravel in the ground as he tried to get up, but the weight of his own head and the weight of the ringing in his ears kept him down.

_Damn._ Crystals hadn’t worked as well as he’d hoped.

He shook his head, slow and careful, and tried to understand what was going on.

In front of him, Mercury was sprawled on the ground, one of his pant legs torn to reveal the metal prosthesis beneath. His head was lolled to the side and his eyes were closed. Next to Roman, maybe ten feet away, was Emerald. She was trembling as she pushed herself up, and her shoulders shook with coughing that Roman couldn’t hear.

The twins and Neo were together, to Roman’s other side. They were getting to their feet, Neo having protected them in the blast. Her mirror had shattered and struck the Dust in the shipping container. She must have just had enough time to form up a second one around herself and the twins.

He couldn’t see Junior.

Roman opened his mouth to call for Junior and found he couldn’t. His mouth was dry, his tongue heavy, and everything in his body had shut down. God, how badly had he underestimated the amount of Dust in that container? Or had there been others than the four? Roman didn’t know.

A roar broke through the ringing in his ears and Roman looked up to see Adam Taurus, his hair and eyes glowing, staring at the glow that was overtaking the docks.

That glow was fire, Roman thought dimly. Unable to think of anything else. The docks were on fire.

And that roar was Adam Taurus, screaming.

As Roman watched, Adam Taurus turned and locked eyes with him. His own glow was different than the fire on the docks.

_Where was Junior?_

It was an angrier glow. A hungrier glow. Roman blinked, slow and tired, grit in his eyes, as he tried to sort out what the glow meant.

Taurus jumped off the crates and drew his sword, launching himself at Roman.

_Shit._

Roman couldn’t move. His body heavy and his entire world only partially there. He stared at Taurus as he Taurus leaped at him, and despite everything, he wasn’t scared. Even as he knew he was about to die.

Then, Taurus got swiped out of the sky as someone big and in black launched themself at him. The two hit the ground and went rolling, and Roman saw Junior atop Taurus, one arm drawn back only to flash forward. Moments only half there as his awareness returned.

Noise came in – the roar of the fire, the snarl of Taurus as he shoved Junior off him. The crash as Junior hit a shipping container. Roman cast a glance to the side and saw Neo shove herself to her feet, parasol flipping over as a prickle ran down Roman’s neck.

Junior was gone, halfway across the area as Taurus hit the mirror and it shattered. Taurus snarled – and this time Roman heard it properly – and spun to face Roman. Roman shoved himself to his feet and dove out of the way. The sword hit the ground where Roman had been only moments before. Roman spun back around and grinned at Taurus through the pain.

His senses were on fire, everything coming back at once. He could taste the ash in the air, hear the fire crackling, smell the burning and the sweat, and feel the heat and panic that raced together under his skin.

Taurus growled and came at Roman again, only for a second figure to hit him from the side. His sword went sliding as the figure hit him and they both went rolling.

It took Roman a second to recognize who it was.

_Tukson._

“Go!” shouted Tukson, as he slammed Taurus into the ground.

“ _Tukson_ ,” growled Taurus. He booted Tukson off him and Tukson went flying. He landed, on his hands and feet, next to Junior, who had gotten up. Roman cast a quick glance over his shoulder to see Emerald helping Mercury up.

A whistle in the distance, another boom that knocked most of them off their feet.

More Dust containers. The entire dock was going up.

_Shit._ That was _not_ in the plan.

There was a lot more Dust than Roman had expected. How in the hell was he supposed to predict that? How were they supposed to handle that?

Roman moved sideways, toward where the girls were, trying to keep Emerald and Mercury at his back so they could watch it for him. Taurus followed them all, looking from Roman, to Tukson and Junior, to the others.

“I thought you had men on the club?” asked Roman, casting a glance to Junior. “Or was that just a lie?”

A chuckle and Qrow strolled up, sweeping his fingers out of his hair. “Oh, it wasn’t a lie. I took care of ‘em when I came to help out.” Qrow cocked one of his hips and one of his eyebrows, grinning at Taurus. “You really gotta work on your training, you know that?” He shook his head and tsk-ed. “Honestly, Taurus.”

“You little…,” started Taurus, but he didn’t finish as another boom rocked them all. Tukson was the only one who didn’t wobble.

“Come on Taurus,” said Qrow, grinning with all his teeth. “You really think you can take all of us? You’re nothing but a coward and a child, and you know it.” Qrow gestured to the docks around them, his gestures as big as his voice. “Look around, Adam, your people have abandoned you, your docks are on fire, and everything you ever wanted is going up in smoke.” Qrow shook his head. “You’re pathetic, playing dress-up to try and take over the Fang. You and I both know you could _never_ outdo Sienna, and trying to go after the academy?”

“Shut up!” snapped Taurus. “I had everything I needed. If Torchwick hadn’t gone and gotten himself _fucked_ —”

Roman stepped in when he saw Junior’s shocked expression. “It’s this thing called _family_ , Adam, maybe you’ve heard of it.”

Taurus growled at him and, above them, sirens and lights began to wail and flash.

“Well, what’d’ya know?” asked Qrow, putting his hands on his hips. “Looks like Jimmy got my call after all.” He lifted one hand and waved as the two air ships came down.

Taurus turned to grab his sword, but Mercury stepped on it and grinned at him, folding his arms over his chest. Emerald leaned against him, her red eyes flickering with the light of the fire.

On the other side, Neo and the girls stepped up, and Taurus snarled, but it was low and pathetic in his throat, like he was just trying to keep up appearances.

Atlesian Knights fell from the airships and surrounded Taurus, their guns raised. Others dropped down with hoses to put out the fires all around them. Amidst all of that, one of the ships landed and General James Ironwood of the Atlesian military stepped out, strolling toward all of them with the same military precision Roman had seen, more than once, on the news.

“Good work,” said General Ironwood. “We’ve been trying to apprehend Taurus and his band of miscreants for months.” His gaze fell to Roman, then to Neo, and he frowned. His gaze went to Qrow. “I take it you’re responsible for this?” he asked, gesturing with his gloved right hand to the carnage around them.

Qrow snorted and shook his head. “Nah, it was a team effort. Couldn’t have done it without Roman or Neo.” He jerked his chin toward Roman, and Roman took a step back.

Fear prickled up his spine like a living thing, telling him to run. He saw Neo put herself behind the twins, her hair in her face.

“Criminals?” asked General Ironwood, raising a thick eyebrow at Qrow.

Qrow snorted and waved him off. “Maybe, but good people. Besides, none of this is their fault and…” He paused, grinned, and put his hands on his hips. “Actually, I think we should pardon them, you know, if they agree to stop being criminals.” He cast a glance at Roman. “What’d’ya say, Torchwick? Wanna be a free man?”

_More than anything._ But that didn’t mean it was going to happen. He’d thought long and hard about his life, and about what he wanted, ever since he and Junior had gotten together. Stepping out of the criminal world and being and honest man would be the best way to keep Junior and the twins safe, but could Roman do it? And was it even an option anymore?

“I…” Roman trailed off and pressed his lips together, not sure what to say. “Of course, I do,” he decided on, his voice a tad hoarser than he meant it to be. He looked at Junior, who frowned at him, curious rather than judgemental, and Roman looked away, biting the inside of his cheek. “More than anything.”

General Ironwood frowned at Roman, then at Qrow. “You know I can’t pardon people who aren’t Atlesian citizens,” he said, levelly.

Qrow rolled his eyes and folded his arms. “No, but _you_ can tell Ozpin to pardon him, and _Ozpin_ can tell the Council. You know they’ll do it if you ask nicely, Jim.”

“James,” said General Ironwood.

Qrow smirked, eyes dancing with mirth. There was a tension between the two that Roman had a feeling about, but it wasn’t his business, not right now.

“James,” agreed Qrow, but the word was twisted to sound more mocking than anything else. “What do you think? Will you do it?”

General Ironwood looked from Roman, to Qrow, and back again. “I’ll think about it,” he said, after a moment. He looked to Taurus, who had been bound by the Knights. “You’re going away for a _very_ long time. Just as soon as we ask you a few questions.” There was a low warning in his voice that made Roman swallow hard – oh that was really attractive and it really, _really_ shouldn’t have been.

With a nod and a gesture, James Ironwood, the Atlesian Knights, and Adam Taurus left the docks and headed for their ships, and that left Roman and Junior with the kids and with Qrow and Tukson, who quickly disappeared, alone on the docks, the fires out and other Knights still milling about and fixing things.

“So,” said Qrow. “I think that solves that. I’m gonna head up to Beacon and talk to Oz, make sure everything’s okay on that end.” Qrow gave a nod to Junior and a wink to Roman. “See you around, pumpkin.” With that, he was gone as well, leaving the pseudo-family alone.

“Pumpkin?” echoed Junior.

Roman shrugged. “We have history.”

“Should I be worried?” asked Junior. The five kids watched, all of them curious but none of them willing to admit to it.

“I guess that depends on whether or not you want me back,” said Roman, slowly. “I’m not worried about him. You’re…” Roman sighed. “You’re the only one I want, Jun.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at Junior through his bangs.

Junior sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his ears red. “We need to talk.” He cast a glance at the others. “Alone. Preferably back at the club.”

“Sounds good,” said Roman, fear dancing down his spine once more.

Together, the two adults and five teenagers left the docks and fires behind, and headed back toward the club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love!


	22. A Place to Hang Your Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter of _A Place to Hang Your Hat_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it, folks. The final chapter of _A Place to Hang Your Hat_. I hope you all enjoy it and find the ending satisfactory.

Junior and Roman didn’t talk when they got back to the club. Not that night, and not early the next morning. Instead, that time was mostly spent cleaning each other up, keeping tabs on the kids, and ensuring everyone was safe and taken care of. That night, when Roman passed out, it was with Neo on an air mattress in Junior’s living room, and Junior slept on the couch while Mercury and Emerald took his bed.

In the morning, cleaning up the apartment was priority, as was calling Qrow and Tukson to ensure they were all right. Tukson seemed fine, and promised to come over later to talk. As for Qrow, well, considering James Ironwood answered the scroll, obviously half asleep and _definitely_ shirtless – though Roman had only seen a flash of the left side of his collarbone – it seemed Qrow had sorted out his issues and was enjoying the fruits of his labour as well.

It was only around noon the day after the docks that the two were finally able to talk to one another, and even then, it wasn’t Roman or Junior who brought it up, it was Mercury, of all people.

“So,” said Mercury, stabbing at his brunch omelet, “are you two actually gonna talk about your shit or are you gonna keep pretending like you have any idea what to call yourselves after everything?” he asked.

“Mercury!” said Emerald, staring at him, her own fork dangling, forgotten, between her fingertips.

Roman cocked an eyebrow and propped his elbow on the dining table, his chin in his hand. “How about this – I’ll sort out _my_ shit with Junior, when you sort of what the hell you are with Emerald. Does that sound fair?”

Emerald’s eyes grew wide and she shrunk back a bit in her seat, biting her lower lip. Mercury, by contrast, merely shrugged and turned his attention to Emerald, his gaze somewhere between hopeful and worried.

“Hey, Emmie?” he asked, all the cockiness gone out of his voice. Emerald perked, looking at him, still confused. “You wanna go out sometime, on an actual date?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I do.” Then, she leaned over and punched him in the shoulder. “You’re buying.”

“Says the thief to the butcher,” said Mercury, rolling his eyes.

“So butcher me something, pretty boy,” said Emerald, teasing.

Mercury batted his eyelashes at her. “Aww, you think I’m pretty.” Then, turning his gaze back Roman, he cocked an eyebrow. “There ya go, sorted. Your turn.”

Roman narrowed his eyes at Mercury, glaring at him. “You’re a smug little shit.”

Mercury grinned, all teeth and all cock. “Oh, believe me, pumpkin spice, _I know._ ”

Roman glanced over at Junior, who looked a little embarrassed, and sighed, then got to his feet. “You uh, wanna go talk in private?” asked Roman. Junior nodded and got to his feet as well, following Roman out of the room and back to Junior’s bedroom.

Roman’s stomach churned as he and Junior stepped into Junior’s bedroom and Junior closed the door. Roman leaned against the dresser and hugged himself, wishing for his hat. It wasn’t often he felt completely exposed, but here, in this room with Junior, he’d never felt more vulnerable.

He kept his gaze away from the bed, knowing there was no good in looking at it. He’d spent a lot of nights in that bed, Junior wrapped around him for one reason or another, and even just being in this room was enough to trigger Roman’s sense memory. Soft kisses, softer words, laughter and discussion, Junior’s smile, first thing in the morning.

So many things he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get to see again.

Junior cleared his throat and leaned against the door, his hands behind his back. Roman tried not to let the lack of an escape route bother him. Junior was harmless; he was safe; nothing was going to happen. Just, you know, the possibility of humiliation, break-up, and the knowledge that he could lose everything in an instant.

“So, talking,” said Roman. He folded his arms a little tighter, pretending he wasn’t hugging himself, and looked away. His gaze went to the bed and he swallowed, dragging his gaze to the space on the floor between himself and Junior. “I’m sorry.” His voice was soft, barely a whisper, and he wasn’t sure if Junior had even heard him.

“Me too,” said Junior, almost as quiet.

Roman’s head came up and he furrowed his brow. Why was _Junior_ sorry? He hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I should have trusted you, when you said there was nothing with you and Tukson anymore,” said Junior. He reached up and rubbed his hand over the top of his head, frowning.

“No, no, no,” said Roman. He pushed off the dresser and flipped his bangs out of his eyes. Then, he jabbed a finger at Junior, still not daring to cross the distance between them. “ _You_ were completely reasonable. _I_ was the one who fucked everything up. I _hurt_ you. You’re _allowed_ to be upset about that.”

Junior shook his head, looking away from Roman. With their height difference, Roman managed to spot the wry twist to Junior’s lips and wondered what it was about.

“Just tell me what you want, Jun,” said Roman, letting his voice go soft again. “Because at this point I…” He sighed and shrugged, turning over his hands. “I’m willing to take whatever you’re willing to give.”

For a long moment, Junior said nothing. “What I want?” he asked. Roman nodded. Junior pushed off the door, still partially hunched over, and looked at Roman. Roman sucked in a breath when he met Junior’s gaze – it was soft and unguarded, his fear and his sorrow plain on his face.

In that moment, Roman was certain that Junior was about to walk away from him, that Junior was going to tell him to leave, and that Roman and Neo were going to have to go find somewhere to hide until they could find another apartment. Which would be empty. Because everything they owned that hadn’t been on their scrolls or at Junior’s had been destroyed.

Roman had never been more grateful that he kept backups of all his family photos on his scroll. Otherwise, he would have lost the last fifteen years with Neo.

“I want you, Roman,” said Junior. Roman blinked and faltered, unsure of whether or not he’d heard Junior correctly. “I want…” He shook his head. “I want you back. I want to be together again. I want you to live here, properly, and I want to extend the apartment so Emerald and Mercury can stay, if they want to.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged, gaze sliding away from Roman. His voice wobbled as he spoke and Roman kept staring, unable to believe what he was hearing. “I just… want you.”

Roman swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat and licked his too-dry lips. “Really?” he asked. His voice cracked as he spoke and he grimaced, looking away from Junior. Once more, his gaze fell on the bed. This time, a spike of longing and hope shot through him as he looked at it. Longing for the life they’d had before everything went to hell. Longing for it to continue, for them to properly live together, for Neo to always have someone to come home to, for…

For the ability to walk away from a life he no longer had any interest in.

For the ability to go straight. And god, Roman had _never_ thought he’d utter that phrase, not without some serious irony around the idea of ‘him’ and ‘straight’ in the same damn sentence. But jokes aside, Roman was serious. And it seemed Junior was as well.

“Yeah,” said Junior. Roman stared at him and Junior stared back, both of them with the masks stripped back and only their vulnerabilities, their hopes and dreams, remaining. “I want you, Roman. In every way you’re willing.”

Roman stumbled forward a step, then caught himself and fell into Junior, burying his face in Junior’s shoulder. Junior wrapped his arms around Roman so tightly that Roman felt his shoulders squeeze. He didn’t care. To have that, to have _him_ , back, was more than Roman had thought possible when they’d started this talk.

He wound his arms around Junior’s middle and buried his face in Junior’s shirt. Junior pressed a kiss to his hair. Roman sniffled, absolutely refusing to admit to the tears in his eyes.

“I love you, Roman,” whispered Junior in his hair, and Roman let out a quiet noise of surprise. He pulled back from Junior to blink up at him. Junior’s eyes went soft and he reached up, brushing the tears from Roman’s eyes with his thumb. “Are you all right?”

_Love._

Junior _loved_ him.

When was the last time Roman thought that was possible?

“I love you too,” said Roman, voice cracking partway through. The words were foreign on his lips, only ever spoken to Neo before, and god, what did that say about him? But it didn’t matter. Not really.

Not when Junior had said them first. Not when there was no risk.

Not when Roman was finally getting everything he wanted, and everything he’d never thought possible.

There was a long hesitation as the two simply looked at one another, then Roman cracked a smile at Junior, and Junior cracked a smile back, and then the two met halfway, kissing one another with a gentleness that Roman hadn’t thought possible.

When they pulled back, Junior swiped at Roman’s eyes again and his smile deepened, wrinkling the corners of his own eyes.

“Should we tell the others?” asked Junior, tilting his head to one side. Roman let out a soft laugh and nodded. He pulled Junior from the room, lacing their fingers together, and headed back to the kitchen. When he got there, he saw everyone clustered at the open door, Neo nowhere in sight, and frowned.

“What’s going on?” asked Roman, releasing Junior’s fingers to head over to the kids. They looked back at him, seemingly as surprised as he was to see them at the door, then gestured toward the open door.

With a frown, Roman headed toward the open door and stepped passed the kids to see what was going on. When he saw nothing, he headed down the short hall to the staircase and into the open part of the club.

What he saw then made him gasp.

Down on the club floor, firstly, were Qrow and General James Ironwood, both of them looking much less rumpled and much more dressed than this morning, on the Scroll call. But, around them, were others, some of them Roman knew – blondie from the bar with Junior, Sun, and presumably his partner was the guy with blue hair – but most of them he didn’t. They were all teenagers, however, and Roman looked over all of them and found Neo at the centre of the crowd, staring up at James Ironwood.

“What’s going on?” asked Roman, walking up to Neo. He rested a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged, looking vaguely confused. “I’m not being arrested, am I?”

“Pardoned, actually,” said Ironwood. His lips twisted into a wry smile and he looked at Qrow, who broke into a wide grin and took over.

“Jim here managed to get you completely pardoned for everything. No more criminal charges, Roman, all because you helped us take down one of the worst terrorists out there.” Qrow stuffed his hands in his pockets and his smile went softer as he looked at James. Then, the tips of his ears turning red, he turned back to Roman. “How’s that sound?”

James cut in before Roman could respond. “Of course, it comes with the caveat that if you commit another crime, we will never allow you another pardon and you will be forced to serve time. My apologies for that.” He didn’t sound sorry, but Roman didn’t really care. The guy had done a lot for him, for which Roman was grateful. He cracked a smile at both of them and looked over the others.

“That’s pretty fantastic, General,” he said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling exposed without his hat or his coat or his gloves. “So, what about the rest of you? What are you doing here?”

“Well, seeing as you helped me with my relationship problems,” said Sun, hooking his tail around the blue haired teen. Said teen squeaked and Roman smirked. Yup, definitely Neptune.

“And Junior helped me with stuff too,” said blondie, slinging an arm around the shoulders of a girl wearing a bow.

“Well, we all wanted to come down and talk to you guys. Maybe have a couple sodas,” said a blond boy who looked really, really awkward.

A spunky looking orange haired girl with bright eyes nodded and bounced forward. “Right? And we totally figured you guys would want the business, you know?” She bounced back when one of the few of the bunch Roman recognized – Pyrrha Nikos, Champion of Mistral – grabbed her by the back of her little dress and pulled her backward.

“You’ve done a lot for our friends,” she said. “Forgive us if we wanted to meet you.” She shrugged, somehow making the gesture look both apologetic and thankful at once.

Roman looked over all the kids – over a dozen in total – and cracked a wry smile, shaking his head. “Well, this settles it,” he said. He looked to General Ironwood and grinned. “Looks like I’m going straight.” He winked. “Though, not too straight, I _do_ have a boyfriend, after all.”

Ironwood looked to Qrow, mouth twitching up on one side. “You don’t say,” he said, sounding a tad amused. Qrow rolled his eyes, but his mouth twisted into something pleased and bashful all at once. Roman’s own smile broadened, unable to contain how pleased he was to see everyone’s relationships working out.

“Roman?” Junior’s voice drifted down the stairs.

“Hey, Jun, come down here,” called Roman over his shoulder. A shifting of weight on the stairs and then a soft noise of surprise. Roman looked over his shoulder and grinned at Junior, who smiled back at him, looking as confused as Roman had initially felt.

“What’s going on?” asked Junior, furrowing his brow. He looked from Roman to the crowd and back again.

Neo tugged at Roman’s sleeve and flicked her fingers. “ _We should thank them,”_ she said. _“What about…?”_ She trailed off, frowning, at a loss for ideas or for words, Roman wasn’t quite sure which.

“They wanted to thank us, for helping out with the docks, and with all their relationship stuff,” said Roman. Roman shoved his hands in his pockets, cocking his head to one side. An idea prickled in the back of his mind, forming up. “You know, Ironwood pardoned me.”

Junior blinked. “What?” he asked, head swinging to Ironwood. His mouth parted, jaw falling and eyes going wide and soft. “Really?” The hope naked in his voice.

Ironwood nodded. “So long as he doesn’t go back to crime.”

Junior’s gaze swung back to Roman and Roman nodded.

“I’m giving it up,” he said, in a soft voice. “No more crime; no more stealing. I’m gonna be an honest man from now on, promise.” Junior broke into a wide smile and Roman smiled back, then cast a look to the kids. “You know, these guys seem pretty keen on spending time here. It’s really too bad you’re an adults’ only club.”

“There’s a ton of us who wanna come down here after Yang and Sun told everyone about you two and the DJ,” said Neptune. “It would be _so cool._ ” His eyes practically sparkled as he said the words. Roman’s lips twitched. He liked this kid.

Roman shrugged and folded his hands behind his head, rocking on his heels. “Man, that’d be great for business, don’t you think? Maybe rebranding would even get the crooks out of this place.”

Junior narrowed his eyes. “You suggesting I become a teen club, Roman?”

“Or a club with a teen night,” said Roman, shrugging. “But we’re in a city full of teenagers looking to have fun and let off some steam. A teen club would probably get _massive_ business. And,” his voice went sing-song, “no more criminals around. I could even work with you.”

“Of course you’d work with me,” said Junior. Roman grinned, his chest warm. Junior hummed, looking over them all. He rubbed at his chin, obviously in deep thought. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. Of course, I couldn’t do it alone, I’ll need help with renovations, menus, music.” Junior looked over them all, amusement dancing in his words and in his eyes. “I don’t suppose any of you would like to help?”

Almost every single teen perked in unison.

“And I’ll need help getting the paperwork together,” said Junior, “to make the shift to have minors in here.”

Ironwood nodded. “I think I can help with that.”

Roman clapped his hands together and whistled. “All right, let’s make a list. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” He laughed at the collective groans that then turned into cheers, and winked at Junior.

Junior led the organization of their little team, and Roman stepped in when necessary, but mostly he was just content to watch, to feel, and to _enjoy_ this moment, this day, with the knowledge that there would be many more like it in the future.

Together, with Neo, the twins, and with Mercury and Emerald, if they decided to stick around, Roman had a family and a home he thought he’d never have, when he was a kid. With them, Roman had found his place in the world. With them, Roman had found a way to start a new life.

And he planned to enjoy every last second of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing _A Place to Hang Your Hat_ , I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a ship I quite literally launched and named over on Tumblr, a ship with _one_ canon interaction - one we only saw the tail end of, out of focus, in a _trailer_ , and a ship that involved a guy with some very popular ships. I definitely wasn't expecting to convert people over to Crime Dads. I definitely wasn't expecting to get a little following of fans. And I definitely wasn't expecting to see other authors pick up the ship and run with it. I can't say I'm disappointed, however, because that's easily one of the coolest things to ever happen to me.
> 
> So this is the end of _A Place to Hang Your Hat_. It was a journey that took over a year, with a few bumps along the way, but we did it! Now, it's time to move on to bigger and better things, but we won't forget this fic. It gave me a lot to play with, and a lot to enjoy. And I'm glad to see it through to the end.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who followed the fic, and to everyone who encouraged me to keep going, week after week. This fic wouldn't be possible without you guys.
> 
> So, that's it from me for this fic, though I'm sure most of you are aware that I write a _lot_ more fics than just this one. Feel free to check them out, or not. It's up to you. Either way, thanks everyone, and remember, comments are love!


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